An Island in the Warp
by Grimgor Ironhide
Summary: Radical Inquisitors summon something... interesting.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Warhammer 40k or Fate stay night.

Okay first thing first I am not abandoning my main story by any stretch of the imagination. It just that I had some writers block working on the next chapter and I have had this idea bouncing around in my head for nearly a year now. I figured that I would loosen up by writing chapter one. Sorry for people who like this but don't expect an update for while at least probably a very long time. I'm working on another project, (my first story) And I don,t want to split my attention.

Note however that his story may get done later down the line so reviews are a definite want.

The Island in the Warp.

Ch: 1

The bridge of the _Evorus_ flashed red as the warning lights on the ceiling activated bathing the crew and captain in a red glare as the worked the controls. The crew worked frantically with a nervous, fever like energy not daring to take glances at the massive armored figure in the corner who watched their progress without expression. Checking and rechecking the control panels the Captain wiped the sweat from his brow as the situation resolved itself. He stopped himself from jumping when the voice spoke up from the corner. A cold pitiless baritone that reminded one of the void in between the stars.

"What seems to be the trouble Captain?"

"It is nothing my Lord. Only some transitional turbulence, we are coming out of the warp without incident."

There was no reply. Taking silence as a mercy the Captain went back to pretending to look at the control panel while he thanked all the deity's he knew that he had not stumbled over his own tongue in front of the one in the corner.

A few moments later the ship shuttered one last time as the transition from warp to real space completed itself.

"Up shutters." the Captain ordered as he once again ran his hand along his brow. The red light flashed once more and then went of allowing the natural lighting to take over once again as the shutters on the ship rolled back revealing a clean and crisp view of the blackness of space that lay outside, scattered everywhere with the lights of a million burning stars and caped off wonderfully by the pure golden glare from the resident sun.

The Captain always loved this part the best, after daring the horrors of the warp and casting oneself adrift in a metal can to the mercy of its unfathomable currents coming back out and seeing the light of the good honest Emperor given stars was like coming out of a dark tunnel and breathing fresh air in the morning. It was a sight that never failed to lift his spirits. Except today.

"Set a course for Sordeth Three captain." The figure in the corner intoned, causing new waves of nervousness to rack his mind. "I wish to be there by tomorrow morning at the latest." The armored figure went on.

The captain froze as he put in the coordinates for Sordeth Three and the estimated time came back to him through the computer. The figure in the corner turned to leave, pivoting sideways, the light of the lamps catching and clearly illuminating the large red skull set **I** that was emblazoned upon the figures massive ceramite pauldrons.

"Ah!...Uuh.." The captain choked, half stretching his hand out towards the figure as it started to leave. It paused mid step, the figures back still turned towards him.

"Is there a problem Captain?"

"Ah!.. Milord! There is- that is, it will take over 26 hours to reach Sordeth three at a- at a safe pace... for the crew, that is..."

The armored figure of the inquisitor turned back towards him leveling its steel gaze at his face.

"Surly Captain you are not a man of such little faith to presume that this ship will fall apart because of haste made in the Emperors name."

"Ah, uh n-no Milord but in order to arrive at Sordeth Three we would have to overdrive the engine to dangerous levels..."

The Inquisitor did not make any move only staring blankly at him as he stood there stuttering and sweating.

"Its only- it- its only that- that, Well Milord- its just that the heat would- the heat would kill all my- I-I would lose half my engine crew.. an-and..they're good men- I.." He trailed off, his mouth seeming to freeze on its own as he stared into the razor sharp eyes of the Inquisitor."

"Captain are you attempting to prioritize your own interest over the time and resources of the Inquisition?"

"N-NO!" The Captain nearly shouted in panic. "I-I am sorry Milord! I will order the engines into overdrive imidi-"

"What are you apologizing for Captain?" The Inquisitor interrupted, his cold voice cutting over the Captains quavery voice like a jagged knife of ice. "You admit that you were putting your own interests before that of the Inquisition?"

All the color drained out of the captains face. He stood there for a moment before throwing himself down on the floor, landing face first his arms spread eagle. "F-Forgive me Milord, I meant no such thing! It was but a slip of the tongue!"

He could feel the the eyes of the Inquisitor upon him, burning into the back of his head. Then without warning the Inquisitor simply turned and walked away, the massive boots of his power armor clanking loudly as he walked down the hall away from the bridge the red robes he wore over his power armor swaying as he did. "Set a course Captain." The voice came floating down the hall in the Inquisitors wake. "And guard your mind against further impurity, your selfishness will be the end of you."

With that the figure was gone, turning the corner and disappearing from sight into the maze of corridors that was the interior of the Imperial starship _Evorus_.

Pulling himself to his feet, the Captain turned towards his crew who were watching him like statues.

"Well?" he screamed at them, spit flying out of his mouth. "What are you fools waiting for? Overdrive the engines!"

The crew broke out into another panicked flutter and the set about changing dials and imputing commands on the control panels.

Down below in the vast cavern of the engine room the countless impressed thralls that made up the crew groaned and panted as a wave of heat suddenly poured down on them from all sides. The massive turbines of the engines beginning to glow red hot as they pushed themselves to new frantic speeds.

*Scene *

Inquisitor Vaurious Mourdifus walked down the halls of the vessel _Evorus _deep in thought. Though on the surface he appeared as he ever did, stone cold and alert, underneath he boiled with impatience. It was not for nothing that he had commissioned the tiny tub of a vessel that he now rode in, a miserable little thing only 1.7 Kilometers in length. It was a poor ship for one such as himself, and he had only determined to use it after he realized that it was truly the speediest way to arrive at his objective. They were nearly there, and with the engines pushed to their maximum he would arrive early at his destination as he preferred.

It was his policy to always arrive early to every occasion. When one was early one saw found the little things that were covered up if one arrived when expected. It was an invaluable look into the workings of the ones that you were investigating that was vital to his role as a judge of men.

And speaking of such he made a mental note to have the captain of this ship executed upon arrival. He did not even need his Psyker powers to determine that the man had been seriously suggesting that he delay his mission to preserve the lives of the cockroaches that worked the engine room. He had inspected the crew of the ship he road in while they were in transit, having nothing better to do and he had discovered, little to his surprise, that there were mutants among them as was so often true among the pressed crews of the Navy. Not only would this course of action speed his arrival to his destination but it would also thin the ranks of the corruption that plagued the Imperium endlessly. One who could be so dull as to not see this was unfit for command of an imperial vessel to say nothing of the Heresy of contradicting the wishes of an Inquisitor such as himself.

Making his way down the hall he taped the corrupt warp amulet that lay at his belt idly and made his way at last into the chamber that he had commissioned as his own. It was a large, bare steel gray chamber with nothing in it save for a single lamp that hung from the ceiling and the huge pile of his more precious or dangerous belongings that could not be trusted in the hands of the ships quartermaster. Upon his requisition of the vessel the Captain had naturally offered him his own chambers. He had declined this in favor of a simple storage room that had been cleared out at his request. Power armor was not easily taken off, and it made him to bulky to properly fit inside the Captains luxurious quarters. Besides this he desired a place to meditate and the plain steel room suited him more for this purpose than any comforts of the Captains berth did.

Closing the door behind him he sat down carefully in the middle of the room and closed his eyes. Reaching out with his mind he felt the ship hum and it hurtled through space, bringing him closer to his destination. He felt the minds of the crew around him, exhausted and nervous. They feared his presence on board as they should. He heard in the background the whispers of his daemon artifacts seeping from his trunk like a black miasma, muffled and subdued by the many holy wards around them but still present. Tuning them out with little effort he reached out further and felt the minds of the crew far below him in the engine room, slowly suffocating as the excess heat from the engine overwhelmed all but the strongest. Then pulling his will back inward he focused on himself, feeling the beating of his heart and the flow of his blood as it carried life to his body. In and out. In and out. In and out, he stretched and retracted his consciousness, the elementary Psychic exercise focusing and honing his mind as he waited for the ship to finish its journey.

Vaurious Mourdifus was an Inquisitor of the Imperium, the Holy Empire of Man that stretched across the galaxy and bound the human race together in purity and conviction. Operating in the light and the darkness equally it was the divine Emperor given charge of the Inquisition to guard humanity and police the great empire for all dangers whether they be the Heretic, the Xenos or, greatest of all, the Daemon.

Daemons. In the end it was they that were the true enemy of the Imperium and its glorious master. Formed in the depths of the warp they were comprised of all the hate, all the greed, all the corruption that the world had to offer and bent on nothing less than the subjugation of all the world and the infernal integration of their nightmare realm with the purity of reality. Insidious, powerful and without number the hoards of Daemon-kind waited in the warp like a swarm of all devouring locus held back from their plans only by the sacred wall that was the fabric of reality. And that wall was crumbling.

With such a vast and overwhelming foe against it humanity had but a few defenses. And the greatest of these was the Ordo Malleus.

Charged with combating the manifestations of the Warp itself the oldest and most secretive branch of the Inquisition was a organization that monitored all levels of society from the lowest slave to the greatest lord and exercised absolute authority over its charges. All together they fought an invisible, eternal war against the monsters of the warp.

Of these crusaders Vaurious was a formidable member, his time in the ranks of the Ordo Malleus stretching back far into the past and his victory's against the eternal enemy numerous.

And yet he was ever hated.

For Vaurious Mourdifus was a radical and a member of the sect of Xanthism.

Common as its purpose was the Inquisition was a fractious and disunified organization, split into countless minor party's all of them clamoring that their way was the best. Of all these however none was a radical or mistrusted as the sect of Xanthism for they were the ones who stood farthest in the shadow treading where the Puratinist Majority and even the other radical factions refused to go. For while the other Inquisitors chanted rites of purity, and put the works of the enemy to the flame the Xanthists saved them and delved deep into the very arts of the enemy themselves. Daemons were strong, why should their power go to waist when it could be turned against itself for the good of the Imperium? Why burn the corrupt tome, why shatter the Warp sword or exorcise the daemon when they could be brought, through skill under the heel of man? The other Inquisitors raved and ranted of how Daemons could only corrupt and only bring evil upon those they associated with but was that **really **true? After all they would not be harnessed by the weak willed men of every day operation but by the Inquisitors of the Impurium. Surely if man was superior to Daemonkind in spirit, as the Emperor affirmed, then the strong had nothing to fear if they remained vigilant.

This was the philosophy that Vaurious Mourdifus had lived by for nearly his entire life, and as far as he was concerned it had proven itself again and again in countless victory's against the eternal enemy. In light of this what were the few mutations that his body now bore from his exposure to the ruinous powers?

It was a dangerous way, but those strong enough would prevail in the end.

Surely.

Vaurious sat there for a long time, gathering his will and examining his thoughts for the task ahead. However the next few days went he must always be prepared to face down anything. Such was the mettle of the Inquisition.

*Scene *

The _Evorus _flew though the void of space quickly approaching the small dark brown planet that was Sordreth Three. Tiny and nearly barren the planet was only sparsely populated and was almost undeveloped as far as Imperial world went. Having few valuable resources it received little traffic and passed mostly unnoticed by the imperial governors that ruled the district. It was primarily for this reason that it harbored one of the Xanthists larger strongholds in that side of the galaxy, the secret base of the Radical Inquisitors being founded far from the prying eyes of there Puratins brothers. True to their title of the Emperors Shadows, the Radical Inquisitors often dwelt far from the major places of Imperial import. The sect of Xanthisim was like this more than any other, building their few strongholds deep in the heart of cold space where their dubious and, as many said Heretical practices could go unpoliced.

Entering atmosphere hallowed by fiery friction the loading ship of the _Evorus_ docked in the spaceport of Sordreth Three, the thrusters of the smaller passenger craft staining the landing pad black in a few places as it put down and disgorged its cargo of passengers onto the platform.

It was an unscenic place that greeted the Inquisitorial Retinue that climbed out of the passenger bay. Unloading two at a time they stepped out onto the ground in order of importance surveying their bleak surroundings expressionlessly.

Inquisitor Vaurious came first his massive power armored frame black except for pauldrons of dull gray set in the center on either side with the inquisitorial seal. Over all of it he wore red robs partly wrapped around his armor much like the robes commonly sported by the Dark angles Space Marines. His hood was thrown back today, revealing dark hair and a heavy set face with a square jaw marked by a few scars here and there that hinted at a passion for melee.

At his belt he wore a bolter and a crackling power sword as well as an immense grimourum that swung from his belt on a short chain. All three were set with purity seals, wards against Daemons and reminders of his position in relation to the world.

Next to him walked his Acolyte, Jarl Maltious a powerfully built blond haired man much like himself but clad in carapace armor and wielding weapons more manageable for unenhanced humans. A smaller bolt pistol and sword were all that he had for now besides the mandatory knives and bombs that nearly all Inquisitorial personnel bedecked themselves with. Not that Jarl was unenhanced of course, the promising warrior was **quite** heavily agumentated, his physical ability's boosted through the roof by the various drugs and enhancements that were available to inquisitors.

Behind them walked the dark hooded figure of a Penitent, swathed in dark robes who slouched along after him twitching slightly. Walking with him holding a leash attached to the hooded figures neck was a man dressed in more simple armor with a variety of guns and blades hanging from his person.

Following closely was the Mystic Nidilus, a tall man with a mop of dark hair that fell nearly over his eyes whose job it was to detect and a sometimes banish Daemons, and Hierophant, a bald priest who bore a tall staff and chanted slowly under his breath as he walked along.

Behind them came a small crowd of other member of the retinue. A Medic, a Communications Expert, a terribly malformed Mechanus Priest and nearly a dozen simple warriors, men whose skill in battle and steady nerve combined with utmost purity of purpose to set them apart enough to gain the notice of the Radical Inquisitor.

Moving together as one group the party of almost twenty persons marched resolutely across the landing pad. Inquisitor Vaurious had arrived.

*Scene *

Deep below the earth in the heart of the Inquisitorial stronghold Vaurious strode along taking the steps of the stair he was climbing two at a time as he ascended. Reaching the top of the staircase he did not bother to knock as he flung open wide the double doors marked down the middle with the inquisitorial seal. There was a small gasp from the occupants as he strode into the room, the old man who sat in the corner flinching a little and the two younger men by the desk nearly jumping as he burst into the room. Only one figure in the room betrayed no reaction, the grey haired inquisitor who sat upon the throne like chair in the center of the room. The man was clad in power armor like himself and looked pleased unlike the others at the sudden invasion. Vaurious frowned internally at the reaction of the majority, sign of a guilty conscience.

"Vaurious!" The gray haired inquisitor called as he came forward. "It is good to see that you arrival is timely as always. You're punctuality is most appreciated, especially now."

"Lord Stervin." Vaurious said briefly nodding at the higher Inquisitor. "I make it my business to come as quickly as possible. What is the situation that had required such an urgent request for my presence?"

"There has been a binding." The old man in the corner wheezed, his sore covered face contorting as he spoke.

Vaurious turned to regard him. Despite his pathetic condition Inquisitor Xirith was without a doubt the oldest person in the room, having lived for an astounding 372 years on the longevity enhancements that Inquisitors received. He was a scholar of great knowledge rumored to have been from one side of the galaxy to the other in days gone by. He was also a known trouble maker among the Inquisition and a Inquisitor who had been brought to trial for heresy no less than three different times in the span of his life. Vaurious did not trust him, the man had not always been a Xanthists like all the others in the room.

"Did it break free?" He intoned, casting a look at Xirith.

"No, the Daemon waits below." The old man wheezed again. "As far as we can tell it is contained by our wards thus far. It is the nature of the Daemon however that intrigues us."

"Go on."Vaurious said narrowing his eyes.

"Originally we were in the process of creating a Daemonhost. I have spent the last few hundred years of my life researching the enemy, and there was a theory that I wished to test regarding Daemon-kind outside the control of the four primary powers. I attempted to procure one but something happened. A very strange daemon came though. And it manifested independently of the prepared host."

Vaurious's eyes narrowed till they were mere slits. "What do you mean? Are you saying that a warp gate opened inside his stronghold?"

"No. That is what is strange."Inquisitor Stervin said. "And there is more to it than than."

"Enlighten me. Now."

"Perhaps it would be better if you saw for yourself." One of the younger men said giving him a pointed look.

"I see."Various said. "In that case take me to this Daemon I fear to question no servant of Chaos."

Together the party exited the room following the Lord Inquisitor Sturvon back down the flight of stares and through the fortress until they reached the dungeon. It was a dark place light only be occasional lights on the steel walls and broken up into cells. Even morose than the dungeons of the Puratins this was a place of madness and death, where horrific experiments were carried out in the name of the invisible war. Transversing the dungeon with an air of long familiarity Vaurious followed the others to where they lend him deaf to the infernal sounds of the unspeakable things held there beneath the earth.

They walked past the countless cells and interrogation chambers and came at last to the entrance to a room greater so far than the others.

Stepping inside they each paused a moment and whispered a prayer of purity stealing their minds against the presence of the enemy.

The room that they entered was a large if simple one with plain square walls lined with tables meant to hold reagents and tools for the radical Inquisitors experiments. Aside from that the only thing in the room was the angular pattern that lay on the floor forming a sort of hexagon in the middle.

Stepping out into the room Vaurious gazed out into the middle of the room his eyes narrowing at once in confusion and wariness at the unexpected sight before him.

The Daemon stood in the middle of the circle but it was strange. Vaurious had studied the Daemon for more years than he could count and yet he could honestly say that he had never seen one like this. Absent were the horns and claws, the bulging mussels, the putrid rotting flesh or the ever shifting features that could drive men to insanity. The unmistakable feeling of wrongness that Daemons carried with them was gone as well. Instead, quite unmistakably in the middle of the circle stood what looked like a girl in her early twenty's at the most. She had blond hair done up into a complex bun that disappeared around the back of her head and fair, angular features with a pair of clear green eyes, bright in their sharpness. She was clad from the neck down in some sort of armor/dress combination of Blue and silver with golden overtones that almost recalled the armor of the Adepta Sororitas.

Were it not for the subtle but distinct psychic signature that was emanating from her Vaurious could have truly and honestly mistaken her for a normal girl, maybe from some noble family. As it was though he could feel the signature that she gave of though it only surprised him more. All Daemons had a signature detectable at least in some way, but while the presence of Daemon's was like a dagger to the untrained mind the feeling that the creature before them was emanating was different. It was pleasant almost, though as far from the sweet and subversive feeling given of by the Daemons of Slannesh as anything could be. The figure before them gave of a presence like a warming fire or the first light of dawn, it was a signature that made one feel as though they were in the presence of the High Lords of Terra or a great Space Marine Chapter Master.

Vaurious studied her carefully, honestly caught off guard for what felt like the first time in years. The realization hit him like a bolter round that he did not know what to make of what was before him.

"And who are you Giant?" The thing suddenly said looking at him in what was unmistakably a very human, crossed expression. "Another conjurer here to fuddle about?"

Recovering himself quickly from his genuine surprise at the natural sounding voice Vaurious answered swiftly: "Inquisitor Vaurious of the Emperors Holy Inquisition, you are caught in the iron grip of the Emperors Servants Daemon! Name yourself!"

"Servant of the Emperor eh?" The girl said her eyebrows rising on her forehead in a look of what could only be bemusement. The look was gone the next moment replaced by a stoic expression much like his own. "You may call me Saber, though that is not my proper title any longer." She waited for a second before continuing her eyebrow traveling back up onto her head. "As for the Emperor I must say that I am surprised that there still is one, I suppose this must be Italy then?"


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

Vaurious knelt in the dark, one armored knee planted on the ground while the other was upright supporting his arm which held the book he was pouring over. Running one finger down the wrinkled yellow page he murmured to himself under his breath as his eyes ran back and fourth over the old handwritten text.

"_Akiee, Adim, Akiees, Nudunee, Akiee, Sephun, Abicuss... Akiees, Akiees Abimies..._"

"I do not know what it is you attempting to do to me giant." The thing inside the circle said with an unmistakably human air of disdain. "But I weary or your continual efforts to subject me to whatever ritual it is you are so intent upon."

"_Afises, Abitus, Akiee, Zeferee, Namandu, Ibolt, Abimies..."_

"Nor do I find your prolonged silence in regard to my inquires amusing. I assure you that while you may consider your arts to be powerful, they cannot so much as touch me."

Vaurious ignored the things declaration and kept on chanting, long discipline keeping the frustration that was building in his mind out of his voice as he did so, the Holy words of the ancient text spilling out into the room like letters of stone falling onto a cold floor.

Whatever the Daemon was its sorcerous powers were tremendous, allowing it to put on such a perfect deception even when trapped in a binding circle and assaulted with Holy words. This was his strongest exorcism meant to peal away deception and disrupt the Daemons power. Developed by Inquisitors during the first harrowing, it had been used to unveil a Daemon that had been masquerading as an Inquisitor during the first days of the Order. It was said that not even a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch would be able to shrug of the sacred ritual without struggle, provided that the invoker was strong enough and had sufficient faith.

So far the thing in the circle had done nothing until its comments a few seconds ago. Was his faith weak? The thought rattled him.

Or...

"_Feiess, Lavieem, Akiee, Nuljum, Abimiees..._"

Or perhaps the thing in the circle was truly that powerful. The possibility of having summoned something like a greater Daemon into the stronghold of the Inqusition flashed through his mind. What a disaster...

"My patience is not eternal man. Tell me why you have summoned me or send me back to the Throne. I will not abide here forever, despite what measures you have taken to contain me."

Vaurious froze, in the corner he heard Xirith choke. Had the Daemon just referenced residing at a Throne? This was bad. The Thrones of Chaos were the center points of the Chaos gods, only the most favored and powerful daemons were permitted to abide at the throne of their deity.

Vaurious closed the tome of Exorcisms with a thud that echoed across the chamber. Drawing himself up to his full height he focused all of his mental power on the thing in the circle.

"In the name of the Holy Emperor cast aside your disguise Daemon!" He shouted pointing one finger at the thing and throwing his mind against it with all his might. "This place of purity will not abide your deception! You cannot shield your true nature from us no matter what form you take or what glamor you employ! Submit to our power and we will make your bondage short, continue to defy us with this game and you will spend an eternity in our dungeons bound to that circle!"

There was a short silence as the thing in the circle gave him a hard look. It had been observing him all day, silent most of the time except for occasional outbursts like the one a few seconds ago. By and large it seemed mostly annoyed with the proceeding. Now that changed. Its face set in a proud defiant look it gave him a glare backed with such mental pressure that would have made lesser men step back.

"You would threaten me with imprisonment Conjurer?" It spat at him, every inch the offended noble. "Fie on you and your craft! My virtue will shield me from your dark arts! In thirty years no mortal Magus has touched me. If you seek to test my claim then know this: I will not lift a finger in aid for any man who would compel me by force. Until a bearer of my command seals steps forward my sword will remain sheathed. I will not even entertain the proposals of one such as you!"

Vaurious regarded the thing for a second before turning and striding out of the room, signaling to Xirith as he did so. Together they swept of of the chamber, the guards closing the door behind them.

"I do not understand it." Vaurious murmured once they were well down the hall out of earshot. "It seems impervious to exorcism or domination. The Holy chants do not phase it, and my powers break upon it's will like water."

"More over." The old man rasped at him, his eyes regarding him carefully, the milky one wavering in its socket as it did so. "It continues to speak as if it were not a Daemon, as though it knew nothing of what we are or where it is."

"Daemons have feinted ignorance in the past, this is nothing new to us."

"But what Daemon would deny knowledge.." Here Xirith stopped and let out a rattling wheeze. "Of ...hnnn... the Divine Emperor himself?"

Vaurious narrowed his eyes at the tiny withered creature before him. "What are you trying to say... Inquisitor?"

The dark bent thing looked up at him, its expression measuring. The bent one was deciding whether or not to tell him something. This much he could tell even though he could not read the old ones mind, the wrinkled things mental defenses to advanced after three and three fourths hundred years for him to penetrate. The fact incensed him beyond measure.

Xirith continued to regard him for a time saying nothing.

"A Daemon bent upon befuddling the failing minds of old men evidently!" Vaurious spewed out turning on his heel once more.

Throwing the doors to the binding chamber open so hard that he knocked one of the servitor guards off its feet he stormed back into the chamber.

"Answer me Daemon." He growled. "Answer me this if nothing else. Who was it that summoned you? Which of our number called you hence?"

The small fair looking thing in the circle gave him a baleful look and for a while was silent. Then after a little it seemed to yield."It was the old man who stood behind you that first called me to this dungeon." It said evenly and then added: "I would speak to him if anyone, for he felt fairer than you. Ay, even his foul presence would be welcome relief from your odious stench."

Vaurious snorted once and stormed out. So that was how it was. Regardless of whether or not the Daemon spoke the truth it apparently regarded Xirith as a more desirable contact than him. To be considered fair by a Daemon... he almost laughed. Not because it was funny but because of what that said of Xirith.

Whatever happened in this case he felt that to him at least his position on the old man was swiftly becoming solidified.

*Scene *

"I have spoken with the entity several... **hnuunnn**... times now." Xirith choked out as he stood before the rest of the Inquisitors and their aides in the chamber of conference. All together they made a small but fearsome group, Varuious and Stervine clad in power armor while the rest of them (Their Acolytes and a few other advisers) gathered round in a semi circle facing the tiny shriveled man who was now speaking.

"While its existence here is stable for now – _huun_ – it has expressed a desire for a subject, a phyker who it desires to form a bond with in order to be fully realized."

The room shifted at the pronouncement looking doubtful.

"It referred to this subject as a Master, and when I pressed further it stated that they would have a degree of control over it."

"What it wants is a host." Vaurious said simply, cutting over Xiriths speech. "Something that it can possess or devour to ease its operation in the physical realm. Really, this is so elementary that I'm shocked your bringing it up. As though we could take anything it said at face value" He added contemptuously.

"Of course we can't trust it." Xirith said quickly. "But this is a Deamon unlike anything we have seen before, maybe even in the history of the Inquisition. It would be an – _huuunn_- offense... an offense...an offense to the Emperor not to experiment with it, to delve deeper into the nature of the Daemon and uncover its workings, is our – huuunn- missionnnn..."

"He has a point." Stervine said lightly. "I have done a considerable amount research since the Daemon has appeared. As far as I can tell this situation is rather unique, to have such a thing within our grasp is a most fortunate twist of fate. The fact that it is trying to trick us into feeding it a host is inconsequential. We would do so even if did not wish us to, we cannot afford to lose such a creature."

"My Lord." Vaurious said turning towards the Lord Inquisitor with a feeling of urgency. "If my estimations of it are correct then we have asummoned a Daemon of terrible power. There is nothing unique about it, it is merely stronger than other Daemons thus far and more determined to maintain its facade."

Stervine gave Vaurious a bemused look. "Such is evident naturally, what of it? Such a catch is of infinite use to us."

"My Lord the Daemon was unfazed by the chant of _Lycinium._" Vaurious said, his voice growing in volume. "It has maintained its perfect deception for days now, obviously it is to strong to contain comfortably, we should banish it. **Now** while it cannot move! To offer it a host when we have yet to even strip away its disguise is to court disaster. Heresy is born of such situations as these my Lord."

For the first time since he had arrived Stervine's eyes narrowed back at him. "There are no Heretics here Vaurious." He said darkly. "You stir up unwelcome issues over so simple a matter. I called you here so that you might set the strength that the Emperor has blessed you with to use and wrestle the beast into submission for our purposes. Not to cause dissension."

"Forgive my... over reaction my lord." Varuious said checking his tone. "I believe that the thing is dangerous, to dangerous to keep, or to risk our sanctuary here over."

"Oh certainly it is dangerous but that is nothing to us." Stervine said, joviality returning to his voice. "We are the shadow of the Emperor, while the Deamon may be fierce there are none in the Galaxy who know it better than us. Our knowledge will keep it docile, and if all goes well, subservient."

"You plan on making it a sanctioned Daemonhost?" Vaurious asked.

"Perhaps, the option has crossed my mind." Stervine said tapping his armored fingers on his power sword. "After we let Xirith study it of course. You object?"

Vaurious nodded.

"This is most unlike you Vaurious." Stervine remarked with a twinge of amusement in his voice. "Where is the man who stood beside me on Holy Terra and argued on the behalf of sanctioned Daemonhosts for three weeks straight in front of the Inquisition tribunal?"

"If it could be at least striped of its disguise then my confidence would be affirmed. Until then I say that we make no move towards it."

"Your opinion is noted." Stervine grunted once again serious. "Until then worry not, we will wear this creature down until it lies gasping at our feet. It's own host body will become its prison. We have long known how to turn the enemys own methods against it. We will do so here. Aolis!" He called.

One of the robed figure's near the back of the Assembly stood at attention and steped forward. "My lord?" Came its emotionless voice.

"Prepare a host for the creature. Make it a Zeta class psyker, we will want it to be powerful if it's is to allow for the full containment of the Daemon later. Have it blinded, lobotomized and castrated as per usual, give it the works."

"My lord." Aolis said with a bow. His robe fluttering out behind him slightly the man walked out the door clanking behind him.

"As for now." Stervine said. "I would like to address what it was exactly that you were working on when you called this thing up Xirith."

The old man twitched wiping away a bit of saliva that had made its way down his chin. "I was... researching... _hnnnnn_..."

"Go on." Vaurious barked, suddenly irritated at Xirith's slowness.

"I was... _hiii_ researching the Powers Ruinous, I was looking at the minor ones, the lesser Powers and the Daemons who swim in between."

"Stop _speaking_ like its a _poem_, Xirith." Vaurious spat.

Xirith coughed and then straightened himself. "I was researching Daemons who do not follow any of the four primary powers. I was seeking to.. hnuunnn... procure an independent. Such things are rare. It would have opened up another avenue of understanding for us. Also... _hiiinnnn_... such a creature would have no loyalty towards the four. I hoped that with the right pressure it would reveal the true names of others more willingly than a Daemon loyal to any of the four... _hunnnn_... would."

"I see." Stervin said looking thoughtful. "Another one of your private projects no doubt. Such a thing would have added to your own lore considerably no doubt..."

Xirith blinked. "All lore I gather I gather for the good of the Imperium."

"More like horde you mean." Vaurious said glaring down at Xirith, and making his displeasure known with a slight psychic pressure. As much as he dared to put on another Inquisitor. Xirith looked back at him nervously, probably more unsettled by his expression than the mental threat.

"I see." Stervine said ignoring the tension that was building in front of him. "In that case then, if this is truly an unaffiliated Daemon then it may explain several of the oddity's present in this specimen."

He turned and smiled slightly at the old man. "I must say, whatever the case you have delivered to us a very intriguing outlet. Perhaps your years of research have finally payed off at last."

"_Hiiinnn_... Thank you my lord." The old one said.

"That will be all for now." Stervin said. "You are all dismissed, except for you Vaurious, I would have you stay to chat with an old companion."

Their was a murmur of assent and the crowd moved slowly out of the room, following Xirith who slowly hobbled his way out leaning on his stout cane.

The two armored figures remained standing when the soundproof doors to the chamber of conference thudded closed. Power armor was self supporting and made siting down a moot point.

For a while they said nothing, studying each other carefully.

"There is something on your mind." Stervine declared abruptly after almost a minute of silence. "Speak it out."

"I do not trust Xirith."

"Nor do I." Stervine intoned.

"I thought you assured me that their was no Heresy here."

"Oh, Vaurious. You know as well as I do that there is Heresy everywhere."

*Scene *

Deep under the feet of the men who plotted her fate the one who called herself Saber was standing. Dressed out in her full silver and blue armor with gold trim she was standing full upright with her legs spread apart as though ready for combat, her blade, invisible to the eyes of most beings, she was holding out in front of her its tip resting on the ground.

To the eyes of men Saber was a small, five foot tall girl with sharp fair features and green eyes.

To the eyes of the inquisition (though she did not know it) She was a Daemon, an evil being of chaos and emotion that was using trickery to keep such a shape.

As it was though neither of those eyes saw correctly, though both saw some. In truth Saber was a type pf creature quite unique to themselves, and at this point in history quite extinct. (Though they were not dead, no her kind never **really** died.) Truthfully and technically speaking she might have been classified as a Daemon, but in purpose she could not have been farther from. Saber was a heroic Spirit, a soul elevated to power by the dreams of others. She was a memory of times long gone by. A memory given shape by wonder. For in the warp no emotion is left out, and the crushing weight of despair and darkness that ruled there still could not drive out all of the old things. And her kind were old things, older than almost anything in human history and now forgotten. But not dead. And not weak.

She had been standing like that for 17 days now. While she wore the face of a stern warrior on the outside on the inside her mood was running somewhere between boredom and mild annoyance. Three days ago she had been summoned, called out of the Throne by some force that she could not place. She had answered. Why she did not remember but it hardly mattered now. She was here now. Recalled to the material world. A rare enough event that even now she refused to simply throw herself upon her own sword to escape.

Not that she had solid reason to suspect that her summoners were going to present her with any wholesome Master or purpose. In truth she was being treated more like a prisoner that anything... she was definitely being treated completely like a prisoner in fact, a detail that had not taken long to puzzle out.

17 days ago she had been called, answering it she had pulled herself together and come forth emerging satisfactory inside the same circle that she was now standing in. The room she had been called into was a blank dull chamber very much like a prison cell save for its size and the various mysterious regents that she could make out prepared upon the tables in the corner. It was a strange collection. She could make out what looked like a collection of salts and other things. In the four corners of the room incense censors hung, giving of a pungent and rather strong smell. The smoke itself had been saturated with something like mana. It seemed to be aligned to ward off corruption.

Her summoner was an old man. A very, very old man who was wrinkled and dried out with age and moreover smelled foully of corrupt magic. He had worn long dark, semi ornate robes marked at the collar with a strange 'I' like symbol that she did not recognize She had been put on guard immediately. Whoever he was, she had quickly decided, he was almost definitely of the brand of crooked evildoers who seemed to eternally plague the human race.

She had rattled off her terms of servitude however. A summoner was a summoner, even if she was going to end up decapitating him later when he confirmed her suspicions of him.

The mans reaction to her however had taken her off guard. Rather than confirm or deny his acceptance of her oath, or even make his intentions clear he had stared at her in what was clearly shock for a long time. If that did not strike her as odd then she had definitely been taken aback when tears had begun slowly running down the mans face.

It did not last long. A few moments later he had suddenly gasped, fallen to the floor and started twitching in an alarming fashion that had had her quite convinced that he was passing away in front of her.

He had not however. With a shaky motion he reached somewhere into his robes and apparently activated some sort of device that called for aid. A few moments later a team of what appeared to be guards rushed in and carted him out. A few minutes later a man dressed like a priest had come in and started at her as if she was some sort of bizarre circus attraction. He had then spent the rest of the day ignoring all of her query's and pacing around the rim of her circle swinging a incense censor and chanting. Whatever it was it was meant to suppress her power, and she had felt it scrape harmlessly off her Magical resistance. This had continued all day, much to her irritation. When night came the shift was changed, and another man behaving in exactly he same manner had continued where the other left off."

The next day the old man had returned. He did not answer her clearly when she had proclaimed her oath once more but had poked around with several vague and rather offensive questions regarding wheather or not she was an illusion. When she had told him in no uncertain terms that she was quite real and yes this is what she really looked like, he had responded by attempting to cast some sort of spell over her. When that had not worked (She had been unable to even tell what it was meant to do) he had grown more exited and had begun to shower her with questions. "What are you? Are you an Angel? Are their others like you? How many? Is the Star Child fighting the Four? How do you survive inside the warp?" It had been a very frustrating interview, Saber not really feeling compelled to answer any of his questions in the first place and being put off by their nonsensical nature. What answers she did give out the old man had seemed equally confused by. After a while he had left only to return again the next day to repeat the interview almost verbatim, abet somewhat more slowly this time around.

The next day however a new person had shown up. Clad in impossibly immense armor the man looked like a giant, standing over seven feet in height he had surveyed her from a distance with a troubled expression before striding over to her and addressing her as "Daemon." He had ignored her protests with infuriating steadiness and demanded that she drop her deception lest she "Face exorcism and subjection to torment till she comply."

They had not gotten far, and while that man had shown up only once more after that it was clear that something had changed. The older man came to her less often and for shorter periods of time after that making her suspect that he was being watched and was not meant to be speaking to her for long. It was all bunk anyway. Even when they listened to each other they got absolutely nowhere and Saber was quite certain that she was more confused over the purpose of her summoning than when she had known nothing.

Over time even his visits had subsided and she was left alone standing on steel floors in the midst of her circle with no more consideration given to her dignity than that of a statue.

Needless to say Saber was beyond the point of anger by now. She was incensed, and not certain that she would comply with such mentally affected scum even if they did have a perfectly virtuous reason for calling her.

Then **he** had come. The old man had felt badly of corruption and evil prana that spoke of despair and numbness mixed with foul contamination from some outside source that she could not place. The other man, the armored giant had felt similar if not quite as strongly, like a poisonous plant, reminding her of some of her courtiers, her sister and in the end her own s-... well, the Knight Mordred.

But this man was different, if the other two were offensive then this one was an obscenity upon her preternatural senses. She had felt him as soon as he had walked through the door, a staggering reek of defilement that was almost an actual scent. Unlike the other two this mans feeling was not complex at all. His presence brought to mind two things and two things only. First the strange nauseating corruption that the other two possessed hung about him like a cloud. It oozed out of him like a miasma, coming not only from himself but also from several items that he carried with him.

The other one however was unmistakably his own natural feel. The man was heartless. The feeling he gave off was nothing less than pure and total pitilessness, devoid of any feeling or warmth.

If she could have gotten out of her circle she would have killed him in an instant.

The man was also clad in the same immense dark armor that the other one had been wearing. This armor however looked slightly more worn as though it had seen more use, it was a fact accentuated by how he bore himself and the huge strangely crackling sword that hung at his side.

If she had had trouble understanding the other two she had no trouble making sense of this one. He had walked right up to her and declared that she was a prisoner of him and his organization and then demanded that she reveal her true name right then and there. It was a question that would have made any Servant rankle when so rudely put but to her it was especially offensive. She had told him that her name was Saber and then, picking up on one of his statements had made a guess as to what country she was in. Her guess had not gone over well though, the man had not taken her telling him the fact that the Emperor was the ruler of Italy well and had tried to attack her with some sort of spellwork. It had slid off her Magical Resistance naturally, but that only seemed to infuriate him.

And so had started the routine for the last five days. Every day the iron giant would arrive and launch a magical assault against her chanting long rhythmic Arias that she could feel grinding against her natural resistance to hostile magic. Whatever they were they must have been quite powerful for her to feel them press upon her as they did, but it was useless. Nothing he did ever came close to actually breaching her protection. After all, the blessing of God and the gift of the Faeries were not easily overcome.

In the end both their tempers had snapped, and she had given him a piece of her mind after which he had attacked her with some sort of focused mental assault that had done nothing.

And now she was alone. For the first time in several days the Armored monster had not returned. In one way it was a relief, in the other way she was beginning to wonder wheather or not they were going to leave her down here alone for a couple of months as he had said. In any case she was now giving serious thought to just leaving, when one found oneself wishing that they could be in the company of a nonsensical old man again that was assuredly a sign that self banishment might be a valid and prudent course of action.

Maybe everyone in the future was evil and insane?

Humorous as the thought was Saber felt herself getting tense. As long as she did not have a master she could not leave the circle. She was uncertain as to why exactly that was or what mechanics governed this rule but it was something she knew instinctively. If she wanted to get anywhere she would have to find a master, the main problem was that of the three candidates so far the most promising she had seen was an evil feeling, insane old man who was on the verge of death.

She missed Shirou.

Already she missed him... Already? That was another thing that made her worried. Somehow it felt, even through the oblivion that came with her residence inside the throne, that an immense measure of time had passed. How long had she been asleep? She had received no information on the state of the current era so she had no way of telling. She hoped that it was not to long, after all if England had become something that she could not recognize then she was not certain she could bear it.

The last thing she could remember was watching Shirou shield his eyes from the rising sun just before she vanished. Could he still be alive? It was a distinct possibility, one that made her heartbeat speed up slightly.

But was it really the last thing she remembered? Saber squinted her eyes. Vauge disjointed recollections of battle, cacophony's of noise, shouts and screams, some her own drifted their way back to the forefront of her mind. Whatever year it was she decided, she had been doing _something_ between her last memory and now, that was for certain. So then... he was probably dead...

Sabers introspection was interrupted the next moment when the doors opened. Into her chamber the largest procession so far entered, several men dressed like priests as well as nearly a score of guards with guns wearing masks. In front of them all however walked all three of the men who had been her jailors thought the past days, their presence combining into one nasty aura that once again rankled her senses. The two armored giants and the old man, with the gray haired giant in the center giving her a calculated look.

Saber said nothing as they came in, only giving each of them a steady glare. Inside however she tensed slightly, something was about to happen, either they were going to try something new or they were going to try and become her Master. At least that's what they thought, there was no way in the name of any one of the saints that she was about to repeat the oath of fealty to any of _them_.

The group of men approached her, stopping about ten feet away from the circle and gazing into it. Saber stared back.

"Well Daemon? Have you anything to say?" The pitiless armored one said, his voice low and cold.

"Nothing." Saber returned.

"We have brought you the host that you requested." The older looking grey haired giant said. Turing he gestured for the men behind him to bring something up. There was a shuffling and a clanking and what sounded like a weak incoherent voice muttering quietly to itself.

Saber raised an eyebrow. It did not take a scholar to decipher that she was about to be presented with a Master, but when she saw who was being shepherded towards her circle she raised her eyebrows once more.

Two of the guards were leading a cloaked figure towards her by _chains_ wrapped around its neck. It was slouched and stumbling and seemed to be in some sort of pain as it was making small whimpering noises.

Saber blinked. What could they be meaning to...?

With a steady shove the two guards pushed the cloaked figure into the circle and then stepped back quickly.

Saber looked from the cloaked figure now slouching inside her circle to the assembly observing her outside it. They were watching her with a air of brutal expectancy as if they were waiting for her to eat the man they sent to her like she was some sort of Lion. An accurate comparison but a completely metaphorical one.

Only the old man was different, he was watching her intently as if he was ready for anything. Something told her that whatever it was the others were expecting, somehow the old man was hoping, dearly wishing with all his heart that she was not about to do it.

Giving the observers one last look Saber dismissed her Sword and made her way over to the cloaked figure.

"Are you..." She started before trailing off. She didn't know what to say. The man was just standing there, the shrouded lump that she took to be his head staring off in a random direction. Deciding to forgo courtesy Saber strode forward and placed a hand on the mans shoulder preparing to pull his cloak from his shoulders- and froze. With a sudden rush or prana that seemed to run out of her like a spark of electricity she felt the contract of master and Servant, the proposal that she had not even made yet, become sealed. Saber blinked once more. This time her mouth falling open in shock. How?

With a short sweeping jerk Saber completed her motion sweeping the cloak from the mans shoulders even as her mind balked at the impossibility that had just occurred. Then she froze as the veil concealing the mans face was torn aside.

Saber just stood their staring with her mouth half open at the double surprise of what had just occurred and what now stood in front of her. The mans face was that of a drooling idiot, a blindfold strapped over his eyes and his head hanging slumped over his own shoulder in a horrible parody of conciseness. A thick blob of drool dangled from his mouth as he mumbled quietly and sporadically to himself.

Sabers face contorted in disgust, her eyes dropping lower. The man was wearing only a ragged short sleeve shirt and a pair of shorts. He was pasty and looked malnourished, his pale exposed arms heavily tattooed with evil looking archaic symbols that looked fresh, the skin around them red and angry looking.

"W-**WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!**" Saber shouted at the top of her lungs turning on the assembled crowd watching her. Her lips curled back and her eyes wide seething pools of green she must have made for a terrifying picture as the guards and several of the other assorted personal took a step back. The three men at the front however did not move or even flinch.

"What do you mean by presenting me this poor wretch! Have you done this thing?" She yelled out shrilly. "What am I saying?" She hissed surveying their calm faces. Only the old man looked sighty doubtful, but at the moment she quite frankly did give a halfpence. "Of **course** you did this!" With a simple motion she called her invisible sword back to her hand ready to bring it down on their necks. She made to move forward but felt suddenly that something was missing.

"What are you shrieking about Daemon?" The heartless one said. "We have provided you a host as per your desire. Savor it, fir it will be the only favor you will receive from us."

"**Be silent blaggard**!" Saber snarled. "I shall make you pay in full for your crimes!"

"Be appeased Daemon." The other giant said in a soothing tone. "You will find the host suitable for your purposes, we have prepared you our finest-" The gray hared giant stopped talking suddenly his eyes growing wide. The other two followed his line of sight and made similar alarm.

Saber turned reluctantly back to the ruined shell that they had evidently plotted to chain her to, and saw the cause for their alarm. Despite her rage Saber felt a tiny note of satisfaction. The ugly tattoos that marred the poor wretches arms were shifting and changing, the black ink draining away before her eyes and changing. Soon one of the tattoos had disappeared completely while the other reshaped itself becoming the familiar graceful angular pattern of a command seal.

"What is this!" She heard the gray haired one breath.

"She is affecting the Seals!" Someone shouted. There was a movement of alarm but they were quickly stilled by the gray hared giant who held his hand out. Sabers eyes flickered over to the heartless one. His hand had moved to his boxy sidearm. She tightened her hand around her own sword and made her way over to the invalid who was her Master. The rest of the room froze as they waited for her to do something.

Carefully studying the drooling man she took hold of his arm. He twitched away from her slightly but made no other move. Slowly she brought her hand up and pulled back the blindfold. She bit back a hiss of anger at the horrible sight beneath it. Studying him still she came to one conclusion. The man was, without a doubt a ruined shell of whoever he had been before, no doubt intended to be nothing more than a source of prana for her while they tried to exploit her power. She felt another shiver of anger run through her slender frame as she stood there suporting her new Master. It seemed that there was much to put to right in this world. But first to foil this evil.

Reaching inside herself Saber felt back to the place in her soul where rested her treasures. Her Noble Phantasms. She found that there were many more than she had expected, though for some reason she could not bring herself to be surprised. Clearly there was more going on than she knew, her Spear and even Dagger were present, but for now she had interest in only one.

If the men who had called her up planned to rule her by providing her with a ruined Master than they had another thing coming, for this Servant of the Sword was equipped with many tools, not all of them weapons. If the poor wrenched man could be healed at all then he would be.

With a glimmer of gold Sabers sacred scabbard, the scabbard of Arthur Pendragon formed out of thin air, its gold and blue vitreous enamel surface seeming to draw in all the color from the air around it with its richness, its unearthly beauty drawing the eye of even the heartless one. She could hear a few of the men in the crowd gasp.

She paid it no mind, holding up the faery scabbard she pressed it against her Masters chest and whispered: "_Avalon_."

The blind man gave a little "Guee?" as it dissolved into him in a golden mist while the rest of the room made noises of alarm.

Gently Saber leaned her blind Master to be off his feat and laid him on the floor. Then she drew herself erect and turned, her eyes flashing in anger. Wards or no wards she did not care anymore, hefting her invisible sword in one hand she walked straight for the edge of the circle causing a few of the guards to draw back a little. Good. After who they owed their loyalty towards let them draw back.

Something inside her told her instinctively that she would not be able to leave the circle no mater what she did as of now. She ignored it. It was a foreign instinct, no doubt the work the cruel sorcerers before her.

The three in command apparently thought that she could not leave, they made no move as she walked forward. At first.

That soon changed when she walked right up against the edge of the circle and then kept going. Saber felt a jolt of pain, followed by a feeling of incredible physical resistance. It was like walking thought a wall of dense mud and roots but she kept going. Sparks began to go of all around her as she struggled forward pushing against the wards with all her considerable might. She found to her momentary dismay that she was not as strong as she had estimated, the link with her Master on the ground behind her not yet fully established. She drove forward anyway adding a surge of her own prana to the mix as the men on the other side began to shout in alarm.

The heartless one, Vaurious drew his boxy side arm with astonishing speed and leveled it at her head shouting as he did so. With great effort Saber brought her sword up in time to deflect an **immensely** heavy bullet that leapt forth at her from his barrel. The effort jarred her hand slightly as she awkwardly forced the projectile away using her brute strength only for it to explode as she did so, injuring her slightly and sending a wave of shock though her armor. Briefly she registered that it was strange that a bullet from a gun had hurt her but she did not have time to dwell on it.

Taking one more difficult step forward Saber stepped out of the circle completely as the wards that had kept her stable without a Master for so long, and kept her imprisoned, gave way with a metaphorical popping noise.

Looking around and panting slightly her eyes fell immediately upon the Black heart.

Saber brought her sword up, sneering as she did so, fully intent upon pinning the giant to the wall with it.

"With a shout of "**Daemon**!" Vaurious Mourdifus, Inquisitor of the Emperors Holy Inquisition drew his power sword and fired another bolter round at the small armored thing before him.

For the first time ever an Inquisitor crossed blades with an Eirei.

*Scene *

_Phew! Well guys its been a long time. But don't complain, I told you that this was a side project from the get go and a side project it is. That said I am now more inclined to work on it now that writing all this has got my brain working as to how this will all pan out.  
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_I even have an ending down! And its really epic to. You will have to take my word fot that for now though. Anyway you have a fan named Jouaint to thank this chapter for. He gave me a message and asked me if it was going to update soon just like I told everybody not to do in my intro of the first cht. Well, I though what the heck. So yall owe Jouaint a private message telling him thank you, I would never have done this otherwise. _

_Anyway I have a pretty good idea of what is going to happen next so the next chapter should be out soon. Lets make this clear. This story is still a side project so I am going to keep it to shorter chapters. This is probably about as long as they are going to get. _


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

With quick flick of her wrists Saber deflected the next oversize bullet only for it to explode as well giving her another jolt and sending a sharp pain through her wrist. Recovering in an instant Saber threw herself forward at Vaurious bringing her sword down in an arch over her head.

Slow. She was much slower that she had estimated, falling far short of her intended speed. Never the less Saber was a blur of blue and silver as she charged, crossing the distance between herself and Vaurious in less than a second.

It was with a resounding clang their two swords met sending a shower of sparks up into the air. To her astonishment she found that he was immensely strong, stronger than she had estimated even accounting for his unnatural stature. Rather than cleaving his sword asunder and slashing through his armor to eviscerate him as she had planed the blow merely drove the giant back a step and caused him to get out a grunt of exertion. Surprised at his immense strength Saber almost missed it when another one of the huge bomb like projectiles came flying at her from the side. Her instinct did not miss it however, and she threw herself backwards to dodge the shot.

It missed her by only a little, shooting past and hinting the far wall of the chamber and exploding with an earsplitting 'Bang!' Saber looked over at the new threat and found that the gray haired giant had also drawn a similarly huge gun and was blazing away at her with it, holding the trigger down and letting out a burst of rapid fire that drummed out a thunderous ' **BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!**"

She deflected them all, one after the other, her sword wiping back and forth through the air as she knocked them away, the bolts exploding as she did so and sending a solid shock through her body each time. They were as almost strong as Archers arrows and just as swift.

Recovering quickly she shot the gray hared one a look of vehemence and leveled her sword at him in challenge only for the Black Heart to bear down on her with his huge blade swinging it forward to cut her in half at the waist.

"Perish in the name of the Emperor!" He shouted, his face twisting in rage as he swung.

Saber blocked the incoming strike, her arm giving a whole two inches as the crackling sword slammed into her guard. The man was inhumanly strong, so much so that though her strength still overwhelmed his she could not discount the power behind his sword. With a shove she pushed him backwards, noting the great exertion that it took to do so.

There was more to it than the armored giants strength. She was weak. She had spent the last 17 days bound to the world only by the circle, she had been a Masterless Servant during that time, and it seemed as though her power had not yet returned to her, the incomplete contract with her Master only serving to keep her anchored to the material realm. Furthermore her struggle against the wards had drained her strength even more, splitting what remained of her power dramatically.

Saber cursed to herself in her head, and blocked Vaurious counterstrike. Her suspicions were only affirmed when the gray haired one suddenly loomed in peripheral vision and her battle instinct barked at her to move her head back. She was not fast enough however, and an instant later a huge gauntleted fist struck her in the side of the face, lifting her off her feet and sending her flying across the room.

She landed on her feet, flipping in mid air to right herself, her steel boots hitting the floor and skidding slightly. It was worse than she had thought. Her powers were even weaker now than they had been under Shirou, and with those two, the armored ones, undoubtedly fearsome warriors in their own right not to mention Magi she would have a harder time than she originally presumed.

The gray haired one would have to go first, once his rapid fire weapon was out of the way then she could slay the Black Heart unhindered.

Her charge was staled _again _however when a hail of bright red beams suddenly struck her in the arms, chest and face accompanied by a sharp series of '_crack_!' noises and painful flashes of heat. Saber brought her sword up instinctively trying to block them but the were unlike bullets, striking and vanishing faster than even she could see and coming at the pace of a machine gun.

The guards had joined the fray. Leveling their long rifle like guns which launched the strange beams they were firing at her in unison.

Shouts of "Purify it!" came from the masked men as they opened up on her, more than half a dozen of them making a hailstorm of red beams that pattered off her armor like rain.

"Gun it down don't let it recover!"

Saber flinched and recoiled in pain as two of the beams struck her in the face. They burned like fire, hot enough to sear her flesh normally impervious to mundane weapons. Shielding her face with her gauntlet she dodged to the side as the two armored giants fired at her again, filling the room with their gun's deafening reports.

Leaping forward Saber evaded the bullets completely, running straight at the nearest guard and decapitating him before he could even reach for his knife, blood fountaining up behind her as she moved past. Before the guards head had even hit the ground she had killed the two closest to him, bisecting one and decapitating the other also.

The next few moments were a slaughter, to the unfortunate guards Saber was a blur of speed, and while their weapons shot bolts at the speed of light and their hands were wonderously qucik it was no good. Even with their long years of practice hitting faster than human things, Daemons and chaos enhanced mutants, their weapons could not penetrate the armor of their target and in the enclosed space there was nowhere to go. It was a short affair, Saber evading or simply taking their fire head on and slashing them to pieces once she closed.

Finishing off the last one with a stab through the heart Saber looked up and surveyed the room. The guards had had their loyalty replayed by being abandoned halfway through the fight, the two armored ones and what other personnel still around by then beating a quick retreat to the door while she silenced the last of the strange beam guns.

Gazing up at the solid steel double doors Saber felt herself shudder with anger. To abandon one's own men! What contemptible trash. She would have thought that whatever else they might be, the armored men would not be cowards. It seemed that she was wrong.

She could hear people shouting on the other side of the now sealed door and made her way over to it ready to smash it down like a wall of paper. She paused as she drew nearer to it however, feeling yet another set of wards placed over the entrance probably in case of emergency's like this one. Approaching it she held out her hand to test it and was rewarded with a jolt of pain similar to the one she had felt earlier. These people were strong sorcerers, while she could have broken that ward as well Saber decided against it. Such might sap her strength even more and if she was weak enough to be stalled by the armored giants now then she did not think it was wise to further exhaust her reserves. Who knew what they had in store for her now that she had escaped? More guards at the least, and probably other much worse things. If they had been able to summon her without the Grail then much else might be within their power?

With that line of thought Saber looked down at her armor. It had not escaped the encounter unscathed and was scorched black in many places where the beams had hit it. She dismissed the damage, her armor would remove such blemishes in no time. For now it was her Master that she had to worry about.

Walking back over to the circle she made he way to the man who was lying down on the floor and inspected him. He was breathing steadily and for a moment she though that he had fallen asleep until he lifted his still blindfolded head and turned it towards her.

"Master." She said, her voice smooth and cool "Can you hear me?"

The man made no reply, only moaning softly and reaching his hand out to clumsily push on her face like an infant.

With a nudge from inside herself Saber sent a stream of her own prana though the link she possessed with Avalon, filling the sacred vessel like a cup with her power and feeling it go to work swiftly, running through the mans body bringing restoration wherever it touched. The healing power of Avalon. It should not be long now before he was restored, whatever horrors inflicted upon his body and even mind washed gently away by the power of the artifact.

Sure enough it was not long before the useless mess that had been his eyes began to mend, first regaining their shape and becoming white milky orbs and then becoming two full clear brown eyes. Saber felt a twinge of disappointment as they did not focus, instead lolling aimlessly in their sockets looking at her face for a moment in a distracted manner before moving on. It seemed as though his mind would take longer to repair. If it could be repaired at all. Now that she thought of it Saber was not at all certain that Avalon could heal madness. What if the man was a lunatic from the start? One who had been pulled of the street to be put to this use? An insane Master meant that she would be unable to ever properly establish the rest of the contract and receive prana from him. It would be the end of her time here, and it would not surprise her if it was true.

Be that as it may, it was effectively out of her hands now, with nothing that she could do but hope for his recovery and defend the place until he healed or she disappeared.

Turing to face the door Saber's frown deepened. The magnitude of her danger was greater than she had anticipated. She was for all intents and purposes without a master, her prana reserves were thin and she was cornered in an enemy stronghold.

Maybe her time on the earth would be even shorter than she had thought...

However it turned out Saber resolved, with a half humorous conviction, that she would at least take the Black Heart with her. The world could only be a better place with one like him dead.

*Scene *

As soon as they had escaped the room and shut the Daemon inside the first thing that Stervin had ordered done was the reinforcement of the secondary ward that closed of the chamber itself. Vaurous's Mystic Nidilus and another sanctioned pyker had rushed to the job along with a pair of priests who knelt behind them. Meanwhile the alarm had been raised and withing three minutes the hall was swarming with stormtroopers and a number of combat Servitors, some carrying heavy weapons. The personal members of Vaurious's retinue were not far behind, the hand picked warriors of the Inquisition adding their own presence to what was quickly becoming a small army of men with their guns trained on the door.

"Damnation! Where is Xirith?" Stervin shouted casting his gaze around the swarming men around him.

"I am.. _Huu.. _here." Came the crooked voice of the old Inquisitor.

Stervin looked over at where it was coming from, Xirith was leaning against one of the walls as Stormtroopers rushed past him threatening to trample his frail body if he got caught in their path.

Stervin made his way over to him quickly shielding the old man with his power armor from possible danger in the confusion.

"Xirith! We must contain the Daemon at all costs. We may have to banish the prize after all."

Something like fear flashed through the old mans eyes. "I- it- _hiiiinnn-_ it is not yet to that point of danger!" He croaked out with surprising volume. "It was weakened by its struggle against the wards, we can recapture it if we act quickly!

"Xirith we can not endanger this sanctuary for the sake of one Daemon." Stervin intoned. "It has broken loose, it will have possessed its host by now and recovered its strength!"

"Curse you Xirith!" Vaurious shouted coming up from behind them, his bolter held aloft. "Your Daemon is free after all you promised! It is MY retinue that would be doing this recapture you speak of! I will not risk my disciple's in restraining something that should be destroyed!"

"S-shurly you- _hiiinn_- are _-hiiiin_- not afraid to risk your men's lives Vaurious? T-This is _-hiiinn-_what they were groomed for after all."

"I did not groom them to die trying to capture a Daemon for _your_ curiosity! Nothing that it could offer us would be worth the loss of this entire sanctuary!"

Xirith seemed to reel at Vaurious's words, clutching his chest he began to wheeze and choke, starting to go into spasms.

Stervine grabbed him by the shoulder to steady him but Xirith righted himself and corected his breathing. Looking up at Vaurious the old mans eyes burned with a sudden intensity of passion that neither of the other inquisitors had ever seen in him before.

"It-_hiii-_is no- _hiiiii-_ordinary- _hiiiii-_Daemon!" He ground out "T-This- _hiii- _is the most-_hiiii- _important summoning – _hiiiii_- we have ever preformed!" He shouted. With alarming animation the old man began to stamp his foot on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum and shout over and over: "We must capture it! We must! We must! We must! We must!"

"Enough!" Stervin shouted, drowning out Xiriths voice. "Guards!" Two of the Stormtroopers came imidiatly. "Take Xirith to the infirmary. Set him under guard and then come back. Go!"

They bowed and quickly grabbed the now convulsing Inquisitor by the shoulders and ushered him down the hall.

Stervin paused for a moment glancing at the closed door to the chamber now in the clutches of the forces of Chaos and running his eye over the troops assembled outside of it.

"Vaurious, go get your other sword."

"You are not considering doing as he says?" Vaurious shouted.

"Xirith is one of the greatest Daemonologists of the Inquisition. If he is this concerned then I am willing to entertain his wish."

"**Xirith is a heretic!**" The red robed man shouted, causing a few heads to turn even amongst the highly disciplined Stormtroopers. "You saw how he regarded it! His mind has been corrupted by its influence. Its a **Keeper of Secrets!**"

"No more Vaurious!" Stervin barked. "Xirith is not the only one to have lost his wits over this thing. A Greater Daemon could not have come forth without a sacrifice. You are in my sanctuary, you will do as I command! Get your other Sword!"

Vaurios stepped back, regarding the Lord Inquisitor in front of him. Unlike himself Stervin was perfectly composed, and despite his blood pounding in his ears his diciplin Training began to reassert itself.

Giving Stervin a stiff little bow he turned and left.

Stervin watched him go wondering over the stability of both the other Inquistors under him. For now that would have to wait.

"Aolis!" He shouted. Once more the hooded figure emerged from the crowd, his assistant giving him a small bow. "My lord?"

"Get the Daemonhosts."

"My lord." Aolis bowed again and turned to follow Vaurious down the hall.

*Scene *

So it was that Vaurious ran down the dark steel halls of the sanctuary towards his personal stash of artifacts cursing Stervin and Xirith internally as he went. He knew it would come to this. A psychic premonition? No mater, he had felt in his bones that something like this would happen, though he had not expected it so soon nor for it to be so direct.

The Daemon had torn through the warded circle without even entering its host and preceded to attack them in a rage, a move that should have been suicidal for it considering that Daemons could not long survive in the mortal realm without a host..

Most disturbing however was the... materialization that it had procured just before it had attacked.

Vaurious checked himself, probing his own mind and body with a psychic jolt. Nothing seemed out of place. Aside from what he had already taken upon himself he could sense no further corruption. Satisfied for the moment he continued his train of thought.

The Creature had called something fourth on its own, not something dark, but rather something that seemed bright, much like it did itself. Even with his long training in resisting the temptations of Slaanesh he had been struck with the beauty of the thing. It was unlike any other Daemon artifact that he had ever seen, a glorious blue and golden vision of perfection that made him feel as though he were in the presence of saint. Truly it was an artifact more befitting of an Angel than a Daemon...

But Vaurious did not believe in Angels.

He had seen to many Daemons to believe in Angels.

Cursing himself internaly for his confusion he ran on. If the Daemon had broken free then they had to act fast to banish or restrain it before it tore a swath through their sanctuary or polluted reality with its presence. A Daemon as strong as that might be able to summon more of its kind even here, and despite what Stervin said he was now convinced that it was indeed a Greater Daemon. Only a keeper of Secrets could procure something so beautiful, and fake purity so well. Perhaps Xirith _had _sacrifices somone to bring it up. Yes that would explain a lot. How it had held its fake human form for so long, how it had left the circle...

Strange... he could have sworn that it was a raw spirit. So many contradictions...

Luckily if there was one place that they had the proper resources to defeat a powerful warp entity then it was here in the heart of a Deamonhunters fortress.

Inserting his key into the door he turned it and heard it click. With unnecessary force Vaurious yanked the door to his private storage chamber open. Running over to the elevated chests in the far side he made his way over to one of them and unlocked it with a different key. Opening it quickly he snacked a heavy golden amulet out of the small collection of blessed charms and then slammed the lid shut. It would serve to defend him in close combat from the creatures malignant affects on the body.

Moving quickly he made his way over to another box, a slender ornate locker set with purity seals, and drew yet another key out from his person, this one small and golden, shoving it in the lock.

Whispering a chant of purity he turned the key, slowly this time despite his haste, and carefully laid back the lid.

The long blade that lay inside was red and twisted, marked all over its length with sickening patterns that made one wince in pain looking at them. A dark malicious bastardization of an honest weapon, its blade extended four and a half feet out from its hilt and was set with cruel barbs all the way down.

If the power sword that he usually wore was a tool of blessed smiting than this blade was its dark brother. A vile Daemonblade that tore his foes apart with a curse.

Lifting it carefully from its cushion he held it up and gazed down its length. The familiar taint of its presence made itself know to his mind, grating against the barriers that had been employed to subdue it, the purity seal attached to the hilt fluttering as if caught in a strong wind under the pressure of the power it was holding back.

"Rejoice." Vaurious said, his voice dead. "The time has come for you to unleash yourself on your kin once more, heed my will and triumph."

With that Vaurious shut the lid and ran out, leaving the way he had come.

*Scene *

Through a sea of dark smoke he drifted, looking slowly from side to side he tried to pierce the vale of fog that was obscuring everything. Even himself.

Listlessly he wondered where everything was and tried to think about what had happened but he could not. He was unable to look backwards or forwards in time, only now existed and now was fog. No past, no future, only a present fog that followed him wherever he went.

It was perversely calming, a stillness that did not allow for alarm or feeling to enter him yet at the same time felt incredibility wrong, like he was missing everything and yet couldn't define any of what he missed.

He was in pain. Of that he was very sure but he did not know what it meant anymore and could not bring himself to trace the cause of it or do anything to alleviate his situation. He was not even able to think about it for long. He had no mind and he must think...

How long he drifted it was impossible to say, though eventually he was aware of an especially not want feeling coming from somewhere high on himself. It was c- c... it was... co... it was an unwarm feeling that seemed to be wrapped around the part of himself that held his head up. Whatever that was. The tight unwarm feeling made it hard to get air into himself, and he wished that it would go away to the way it must once have been, without the tightness around him.

Now it only got worse. While the restriction in the place below his head was unwarm, an new sensation came, this one along his arms, unlike the other one this one was warm, so warm that it hurt more than he could describe. It lasted for a long while and he shouted while it happened until it was more unwarm again in that spot of him.

Now he was drifting again, but seemed to be drifting with a purpose. He felt that he was surrounded on all sides by other things. Things that were like he was. Or once was. _They_ were not drifting but seemed to do things in a way that was more than simply floating along. They were leading him with them. He was very uncomfortable, in more ways than seemed possible.

He was drifting for a long way. Now approaching some sort of obstruction that opened in front of him and... There was something in front of him. Not the obstruction, or even the others but something else, something that seemed to reach through the mist and assure him of its reality in more than just the usual ways.

If he could he would have tried to get closer to it, as it was he was spared having to try as he was lead steadily and irresistibly forward to it by the others. The feeling got stronger and stronger as he approached. It was a very distinct feeling, unlike anything he had felt while he was like he was now. It made him feel things that he couldn't understand, but he wished that the feeling would increase, and that it would stay now forever.

The tightness was removed from his head holder upper and then he was shoved forward even closer to the clear thing which was now moving towards him in return. It drew nigh, and sudenly he was afraid, the thing was so bright, so strong and so stern that it made him feel very small. He hoped that the thing would not evaporate him with its clearness.

He felt something touch him suddenly felt a jolt of himself jump between the two of them. It was a weird sensation, but it was even weirder when the thing touched him again and pulled something off of him. For a second nothing much happened but he could feel the clear thing getting uncomfortable itself.

Then there was a jolt, something was making a lot of noises, the kind that meant things. It was very loud.

Now it was quite again, something was changing on him, his arms felt uncomfortably warm again, but not quite as warm as they had been before.

Now the clear thing was turning towards him again. It touched him and he flinched but it did not stop touching.

Something Else was there all of the sudden. Something big, and very very clear. It was so clear that he could almost see it in his minds eye. Big and bright and quiet it made him feel smaller than ever.

There was a noise. The clear thing made it. A very important noise, it was not like other noises, this one very definitely meant something but more than that actually was something itself. It _was_ the clear thing itself, the entire clearness all in a sound.

With a warm comfortable rush the clear thing was suddenly a part of him. Not even touching him but actually a part of him. It was an alarming sensation, so much that me found himself making a noise with his head.

The thing was a part of him, and he could feel it doing things, changing thing inside him already. Suddenly something was moving him again. He was on the floor, it was cold and hard, but he did not find it so uncomfortable with the bright thing inside him.

There was more noise now but he did not notice it much, more intent upon what was happening inside him.

Now there was something happening again. He felt the clear thing, which had gone away come back towards him. It was leaning over him and making sounds. Then something was coming out of the clear thing and going into himself and the bright thing making it even brighter and stronger. If it had been changing things inside him before then it was going it much more now, a warm good comfortable feeling that was sweeping over him making everything it touched better.

For a long time he simply lay there feeling himself change more and more, all the little things that seemed wrong or uncomfortable with himself were disappearing.

And then something else changed, the bright thing reached the part of him that seemed to be out of place the most and begun to work there.

Something was happening, things were getting clearer. Parts of himself that he had forgotten existed but knew should exist began to return to him...

The fog was receding.

All at once he suddenly became aware of time. With a jolt of surprise he understood that it had taken a while to get here, and that other things had happened before, not that he could remember them, but now he again understood that they must have happened for him to get here at all, whatever they were. He had not always been here in the presence of the clear thing as he had thought only a little before...

Other things were coming back. He could identify the difference between him body and his mind.

….

He could See! He could see again, his sight had returned to him! He could not make sense of what it was that he was looking at but at least he could get the signals. There was real light as well as mental light! How he had forgotten!

He was so delighted with this that he made another noise and blinked his seeing organs several times. That caught the attention of the clear thing, and he felt it begin to approach him. Looking over he saw it. It was a creature like him, and despite what he felt from it it was actually not very big at all.

It came closer to him and made noise. He couldn't tell what it meant though, and when he made noise back it did not respond.

Slowly, ever so slowly he felt his mind clear. The haze that he had not even been able to identify was lifting, one after another he felt his wits return to him. He could remember words, remember speech and faces. His mind was healing from whatever horrible circumstance had destroyed it. Memory's began to return as well, coming back to his mind in a flood of lost insight. Most of them simple things like what this or that was called, or how to accomplish any number of things, walking, talking, eating thinking it all began to return to him.

With a groan he sat up and looked around. Not far from him was what he had labeld the clear thing in his madness. Now he saw that she was not a thing at all but a fair haired girl with piercing features clad in a strange but elegant combination of armor and cloth that made her a very striking figure.

Seeing him sit up she walked over to him once more kneeling down and looking him in the eye. Her eyes were green clear and sharp and devoid of any judgment or malice. It was a long time since he had seen any eyes with those two quality's absent.

"Master. Can you understand me?" She asked, her voice clear, high and feminine but still strong.

"Y-yes. Yes I can understand you." He made out surprised at the sound of his own voice. His was lower in tone, and did not sound quite right, like maybe some small connection between his brain and his tongue was still not sound.

She smiled slightly at his words. "Very good Master, I was afraid for a long time that you would not heal, but it seems that all is well, or will be soon."

"I- I dont understand... " He mumbled raking his brains as to were he was. Try as he might though most of his memory was only just returning. "What happened?"

The girl gave him a very strange almost pitying look."As for how you came to be in their captivity I do not know. However I believe that you mind was purposely destroyed so that they could manipulate your power."

"Y-yes. I remember now. They had me lobotomized. They were going to do something with me I think."

"The power of Avalon should restore you physical but I do not know how your mind will recover from its shattering."

"You healed me?" He asked looking intently up at the girl before him. He knew what the answer was already, after all he could still feel whatever it was inside him, like a bright golden flame, warming his soul and repairing his body.

"I did. When you were presented to me you were in a deplorable state, do doubt the work of those villains who brought both of us here." She said, adding a measure of venom to the word Villains.

"T-Thank you!" He said "I don't know what I can do, but thank you!"

The girl was silent for a moment looking at him intently. "Think nothing of it." She said at last. "It is my duty to right wrongs."

He was silent for a while in return, not only looking at his savior but feeling her with his mind as well. He was a pyker. He remembered that now, one cursed with a strong connection to the warp that also gave him sense beyond other normal people.

"Your not... human are you?" He asked tenitivly. He did not know why but the answer he knew he would receive filled him with dread. Non humans were very bad. He didn't remember why yet but it was something he was very certain of.

"No. I am a Heroic Spirit, a person who's deeds in life granted them divine assension upon death. I was summoned here, for what purposes I do not know."

He looked at her for a long time. Now that he did he could not but notice that she was very beautiful, with golden blond hair framing an exquisite face set with deep green eyes. He felt her power to, strong and majestic it filled the chamber all around him dispelling fear and doubt.

"Divine Ascension? Then.. your like an Angel?"

"In... some ways yes." She said slowly like she was weighing the comparison.

"Well, that doesn't sound so bad. I don't think you could be so bad, even if something tells me you should be."

The Angle, or Heroic Spirit as it said frowned but he brushed it off. "It does not matter, you feel good, and you healed me. Thank you."

"Right now there is something else that we must speak of. As a Heroic Spirit I can't exist in the natural world for long without a Master. A Magus who will provide me with power by bonding to me through means of an oath."

Their was a noise on the other side of the door. He sudenly became aware of may minds behind it all waiting to get in. Farther away but coming nearer were three other minds. They were horrible, and made his own draw back when he felt them.

"And you want me to be this... Master?" He asked unsure of how he felt. He felt that it would be more confusing if he knew more of what the real world was like, but for now aside from some memory's that were starting to return he felt like a blank slate, nothing was surprising, because he had no expectations.

"You are already my Master, I only need you to confirm it of your own will."

"...And if I do it?"

"We will be bound together as Master and Servant for as long as the the connection is maintained. You will be my anchor to the world, And I will be your shield from all harm. While we are together no harm will befall you so long as I have strength."

There was a noise, not a physical one but a mental one, the Heroic Spirit suddenly turned away to look at the door. He heard it to, and felt it. The three things were getting closer. He could feel them. They wee bound and angry, yet writhing in anticipation to get free.

"We have little time Master. I fear that our enemy's will soon be upon us, they have brought fel creatures with them. If I do not drink of your power I do not know if I will be unable to ward of a determined assault for long."

"Yes... Yes of course. What do you want me to do?" He said suddenly feeling a weight of dread come over him. The only thing between him and the things outside the door was the door itself and the wonderful creature here before him. He did not want the things outside the door to get him. Anything but that.

Rather than answer Saber drew herself up to her full height and took a step back. "I am the Servant Saber." She called out in a majestic voice. "Knight of the Sword, defender of chivalry. I swear upon my sacred soul, I shall be thy guardian and defender so long as you keep the faith. Are you my Master?"

He gulped staring up at her. Standing there looking down on him she seemed unreal. Like a beam of light caught in a pain of glass. _I foresee trouble ahead. _A small voice in his mind spoke. It was his own. But that did not matter. Even now he could feel the things on the othr side of the door drawing up against it. Men on the other side were preparing to rush in even now. A malevolent presence had invaded the room, he recognized the mind of another pyker. This one so hard and cold a will that for a second he quaked. It was telling him to stay silent. It was calling him a traitor and a heretic. He remembered what those were. It was death to be one, and even worse, damnation.

"Master!" The girl said urgently. "Say it! Accept my Servitude! "

He tried to speak but no sound came out. That mind was menacing him, trying to grind his will into the ground. It was succeeding.

The door burst open with a clang.

The girl wiped around, her eyes flashing like fire she made a strange hand motion like she was holding something he could not see.

There in the door stood, or rather floated, three figures. They were dressed in little but loincloths and what seemed to be a mass of scripted papers that had been wraped around their arms, legs and torsos. From their body's dangled long lengths of chain that hung all the way to the floor and jingled as they moved forward. They hovered in the air like puppets, casting evil gazes at them with red and yellow eyes. Their body's seemed to be disproportionate masses of mussel, extremely thick in the chest and upper body while their legs appeared normal and even emaciated. The air around them seemed to shift and crackle as they floated forward into the room.

He screamed.

"Subdue them both." Came a hard voice.

The creatures seemed to chuckle, a completely silent yet audible noise of pure malevolence that sent deadly chills up his spine.

They pushed forward into the room, what seemed like a mass of guards and heavily armed men closing in behind them with a tall figure in power armor at their front. He froze, that was an Inquisitor. He was the one who had spoken. It was also the one who was stopping his speech.

"Honorless Dastards, feel my blade!" The girl who had called her self saber, the Heroic Spirit shouted it in a voice of thunder. Brandishing her hands over her head like she was carrying a weapon she hurled herself forward at them.

The creatures gave another moan, this one of doubt as she dashed forward stopping in their tracks in sudden hesitation. The next second Saber was upon them.

With a shout of challenge she brought her hands over her head in an arch and swung down hard at the middlemost creature. There was a ring of steel and a flash of sparks as flung its arms up, blocking what seemed like an invisible weapon with its enormous shackles that moored the dangling chains to itself.

The creature next to it snarled and threw its arms around wiping its chains at Saber from the side while the first one counterattacked. Wit ha move like a snake Saber stepped back avoiding both the chains and the creatures fists and then struck out again scoring it on the side with her invisible blade.

It did not so much as grunt. The creature on the right side, silent so far let out a horrible shriek and flung itself forward at Saber, an huge man bearing down on a girl half his height and width. Saber met him head on, slashing at him and opening his torso from the gut to the shoulder and then blocking his wild haymaker with the flat.

With shrieks the other two descended upon her lashing their chains forward and trying to grapple with her.

The pyker watched in awe as the Heroic Spirit beat them back. Dodging and lashing out with her sword Saber seemed to fight with a cold rage and precision that equaled the howling creatures fury in every way, their three way rain of blows was stymied, met with invisible steel, dodged or simply blunted by her silver armor while Saber heaped a torrent of strikes back at them slashing their flesh to bloody ribbons.

Snarling like a rabid dog one of them, bleeding profusely from numerable wounds drew back for a moment and waved its arm in the air around it. What followed was a column of hideous fire that roared and cracked with unnatural intensity. Saber was undaunted. Paying the fire no mind she continued her battle and did not even move when it engulfed her, the flames dancing around her but seemingly unable to touch her. When it passed she stood tall, the blue and gold cloth of her dress not even singed by the inferno she had passed though.

The beast blinked in stupid confusion and was rewarded a moment later when Saber cleaved the arm it had used from its shoulder sending a spray of black ichor from the stump.

But still it came on, fighting with the rage of a rabid beast it rejoined its fellows, extending its hand its own severed arm flew off the floor into it's ready palm and then brought it swinging down like a bludgeon just as Sabers sword was deflecting the chains of its partner.

The beefy arm connected solidly with Sabers head making a disturbingly almost comical smacking noise that could have been mistaken for a gag sound effect. It was anything but. Saber's head spun around and she nearly toppled over from the blow to the head. She regained her balance but the three were upon her in that instant, one wrapping its chains around her legs and pulling it tight while the other drove its fist into her breastplate. She decked the third in the face with her gauntlet as it tried to bite her on the neck, and he heard a sharp snapping noise as its head spun all the way around like an owl.

The others began to lay into her with their fists while she struggled against their grip but it seemed that their strength was equal to hers. He felt his hope begin to fade when she somehow lifted her arm up and drove what he took to be her weapon upward into the one that was hammering her with its fists. It took the invisible blade between the ribs and then she yanked hard to the side severing its spine and freeing the weapon in the same move.

Finally it seemed to feel a wound, giving a bark like cry and pausing in its assault for a moment. She kicked it, bringing her steel boot up and hammering it right in the chest while she wrested with its two brothers, causing it to fly back and crash to the ground.

At first the sight encouraged him but the next moment there was a 'Blam!Blam!Blam!' Through the fresh gap made by _the_ missing creature. The Inquisitor had fired his bolterpistol, the Heroic Spirit unable to dodge while the two monsters held her in place, one on each arm while chains entwined her armored leggings. The three shots hit her clean in the breastplate. The first two seemed to do nothing but the last cracked her armor over her chest and drove the breath from her lungs.

Taking intimidate advantage of the opening the creature with the two good arms held out its free hand. He watched in horror as the limb morphed and shifted, mutating into a enormous talon which it drove into the weak point in her breatplate.

He heard Saber gasped in pain as the limb pierced through, stabbing in what looked like half a foot before catching on the armor and stopping. The next moment the one on her other arm leaned in a bit her right on the side of the neck.

Twisting her hand around Saber managed to get one hand free and used it to elbow the biting one on the face braking his jaw and forcing him to release her neck. It went back to holding he sword arm down while the other grabbed her arm again engulfing her slender limb in its fist.

He watched the scene in horror. Though she till fought with vigor, slowly Sabers struggles were weakening against her remaining two two attackers. When the downed third creature rose from the floor once again, some of its injury's healed he knew it was soon to be over,

"Master!" Saber shouted. Not in fear as he had expected but in command. "You must complete the contract!"

He started. The contract! But what could the contract do now? Surly it was to late for any contract to do enough to save them. And that voice. That iron hard voice still rung in his head: _Stay. Stay your tongue. To speak is to become a heretic. To disobey us is death._

"Master! I have sworn my oath to you! I can do no more, you must complete it! Acknowledge my oath!"

"A-AH!" he tried to speak. He really did but his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and he realized with a feeling of panic that he did not know what to say.

"Are you my Master!" Saber shouted, as the wretched fiends beat on her armor. She had fallen to the ground by now, they were on top of her pummeling her from every angle, beating her to the floor with their infernal strength.

"Y-**YES!"** He screamed, shoving aside the foreign presence in his mind with burst of power so hard it hurt him. It took every ounce of effort he had in his mind but he screamed it. **"YES I AM YOUR MASTER!**"

There was a swooshing noise in his mind as something opened up inside him. Like a great suction he felt his power drain away, passing through him and into the one he had accepted as Servant.

His heart skipped a beat as, for a moment there was no difference. Then like a rushing wind a hale of blue and white sparks gathered around the Heroic Spirit trapped under her three enemy's. The feeling of her power, solid and substantial when he had first meet her suddenly increased beyond his reckoning

"**RHHHAAA!" **

With an enraged shout Saber shoved out her arms sending two of her opponents rolling away from her with a sudden burst of Strength. The last one kept attacking, perhaps not aware that the tide of the fight had changed.

Saber stood to her feet, heedless of the hammer blows that it was scoring on her, seized it by its own chains and flung it out the door into the crowd of guards behind it eliciting shouts and screams of pain from the human guards.

She was standing upright once again what looked like a halo of sparks surrounding her body as she continued to pull in power from him thought their link. He felt his mind shudder briefly at the strain.

He felt his hopes leap high for a moment and then fade. Stronger though she was Saber was injured.

Panting hard, her legs stretched apart while she seemed to lean on her invisible weapon while a stream of blood ran down her neck and the red fluid gushed from the raw hole in her breastplate. Her face was battered and her armor beaten.

_Was I to late?_

With surreal motion the three creatures floated back into the air, many of their wounds looking to have healed, the one with the severed arm now sporting what looked like a long barbed tentacle in its place. Striding forward into the room flanked by two other men in carapace armor was the Inquisitor, who held in his hands a brutal looking red blade.

"I wont ask you to give yourself up." Saber breathed. "One such as you I would not spare even on Easterday!"

"Give my self up? To you?" The man barked sounding angered. "Give yourself up to the power of the Emperor!"

With a jerking motion the inquisitor tore a small white wax and paper seal off of the hilt of his sword, which immediately came alive with crimson flames. He charged her, shouting as he did so while she responded in kind, the wicked blade and the invisible one meeting halfway at their highest point. The ring of the two swords was explosive.

With his senses he could feel the power that Saber now possessed, and while she was stronger he could tell somehow that she was not yet at her strongest. And the Inquisitor was also stronger. It was the sword. The foul sword was granting him monstrous strength that approached hers as it was at the moment.

But neither of the other party's knew what he felt. And he could feel their surprise when their opponent did not go flying but rather stopped blade to blade. It did not take long for them to recover from this. Their faces contorted in fury they each drew back their respective swords once more and hammered them together with much the same results.

Drawing back again the two began to sword fight with each other, the Inquisitor hammering and buffeting her with his blade while Saber struck and parried with unmatched strength and grace.

While both party's were skilled it soon became apparent that even with his Daemonblade Saber had the edge in both strength and skill, to say nothing of speed, The inquisitor meanwhile survived because of the longer reach that his great stature afforded him. His his advantage was not enough to win though, and were it to go fairly it looked as though Saber would soon triumph.

But it was not to be. With an unearthly howl the chained creatures returned one of them jumping onto her back while she was distracted and the others bull rushing her from the side. She turned at the last second and beheaded one of them as it came but the other two pounced on her. Tackled from behind and the side and hard pressed at the front Saber could not defend from all at once. The monster seeking to bear her to the ground from behind forced her to compensate by leaning backwards, and when she did it the Inquisitor stabbed her, forcing his sword into the already pierced area of her armor.

With a gasp Saber clutched her side, keeling over as the monstrous chain men mobbed her, beating her into what state he could not see. Seeing her down the Inquisitor gestured behind him and the room was quickly flooded with Guards.

Feeling slack jawed at the defeat of his guardian and last hope he did not even notice the four guards who had charged him until they were in his face.

With a swift blow from the but of one of their weapons the world went black.

*Scene *

_Man this story is dark :( This is easily the darkest thing I've ever written and my other story has people getting stabbed in the eye with knives and eaten by snake monsters. _

_As for the whole Daemon Demon thing I just figured that Saber would just figure that it was an accent thing rather than delve into whether or not there was a difference. _

_Also I know that In UBW when Saber contracted Rin she got her full power up immediately. I am passing this off with the excuse that Pykers work a little differently. So pleas not that the Saber who just got taken to the ground by an Inquisitor and two Daemonhosts was not at full power. _


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

Within the upper council chamber of the fortress the three Inquisitors sat in deep debate. Only an hour ago they had been fleeing for their lives from summoning room as the creature cut the guards to pieces around them. Subduing the... thing had not been easy. Even after the initial capture it had taken seven sanctioned pykers in addition to the escort of guards and Daemonhosts not to mention Inquisitor Various himself to transport the creature to the prison that had been deemed necessary for its containment. No easy task as the thing seemed only to grow in strength the longer they struggled with it.

In the end, of the three Daemonhosts set to subdue it only one survived, the remaining two that had survived the fight in the summoning room had been required to help transport it to its new prison, literally dragging it down the halls with their chains as it shouted challenges while the pykers formed a ring around it trying to suppress its power. Near the end Various had witnessed an alarming spectacle when the creature had gotten one gauntleted hand free of its bindings and torn one of the hosts head's clean off when it moved back to restrain her properly again. No doubt about it. Had the Creature not been put down when it had been they would now be fighting a desperate battle inside their own fortress.

The Creature. After the battle in the summoning room only Various was still calling it a Daemon with a tone of certainty, a detail that infuriated him to no end. The nature of the thing that had fallen into their lap was now in doubt. He hated it. Despite everything he had warned them of the Daemon had successfully called its own nature into question in the minds of his two colleagues. Such were the beginnings of heresy and he hated it.

"Before anything however I trust that the Creature is securely contained?" Stervin asked looking at Xirith with a hint of harshness. "Your Crucible will be enough?"

"I assure you there is no better containment possible." Xirith answered. "The Crucible of Zaranchek was built by -_hiiiii- _by instruction of our founder himself. It is a pool of pure blessed mercury within a special -_huuunnn-_ pressure tank set with powerful wards. With the chamber sealed, movement while inside is impossible even for daemons, and if there is any sign of -_huuuuu-_ dis - disturbance the pressure can be increased until it crushes the subject... banishing it -_hiii_- instantly."

Stervin gave a nod., even Various made no complaint. He had inspected the containment personally with his most critical eye, and could find no flaw. Whatever else, at least the thing would not be escaping on its own,_ probably_. Now all he had to do was make sure that Stervin and Xirith did not set it free willingly.

"Very good. In that case we must now discuss the subject itself."

Various and Xirith tensed. Of course it was the same things that they were all pondering.

"Gentlemen," Stervin said casting his eyes around the room at both of the other two Inquisitors. "The time has come to consider... that we are now dealing with something that perhaps defies accepted knowledge."

"As we have all seen, this Creature does not seem to function by the rules that other Daemons are governed by. It has no apparent need for a circle of power or warp rift, it is impervious to exorcism, and it bonds to its host while staying separate from it. While it is still possible that this is simply a Daemon of vast power employing trickery this, as well as many other signs do not add up."

"This is dire. If Daemons are getting the ability to move and act without hosts or circles then this could end all." Various said. "We must interrogate this one it as to the nature of its abnormality and then destroy it. Utterly!"

"Don't be so hasty!" Xirith said. "We have yet to consider the other _-huuunn-_ possibility's."

"And what possibility is that?" Various said, ire infecting his voice.

"Indeed." Stervin said. There was a grim gleam in his eye. "I was going to go go on myself but since you obviously have your own theory please enlighten us."

Xirith paused looking at the two power armored figures that were now both staring at him.

"It... " He coughed nervously "-_huuuu- _is possible... probably even... that this is not a - a Daemon at all."

Various's eyes darkened.

"L-Listen!" Xirith demanded slamming his frail trembling fist on the table. "We know that in ancient times Daemons were not the only things that lay inside the warp! Why could there not be other things inside as well? Who can say what may dwell within?" Xirith was nearly shouting now. He had risen from his seat at the table and was swaying back and forth on his feet as he spoke, a strange and wild light in his eyes. "Is it not the realm of thought? Is the warp not where the pagan deity's of the Eldar once dwelt? Is it not the realm where the Star Child grows even now?"

With a explosive crash Various slammed his own fist into the table, the armored gauntlet of his massive hand making a dent in the tables steel surface.

"There is no such thing as the **Star Child**!" Various shouted standing up himself.

Xirith seemed to realize what he was doing and fell back into his seat wheezing with exertion.

Various glared at the old man shoot him daggers from his eyes. "So. You've come to this." He hissed. "I knew it would be something like this. The thing puts on a pretty face and you take it for some sort of divine spirit – all of it based on **that** heretical theory, _that_ preposterous dream!"

Xirith finished coughing and looked back up, no longer trembling.

"That is the first time I believe that I have ever heard you speak so long without wheezing." Stervin broke in. "Am I to take it that this is something you have been wanting to say for a long while?"

Xirith gave another cough. "Its nothing." He made out though his hand. "Just a possibility I wanted to address."

"But you are eager for it to be some sort of benevolent spirit? Are you not?" Stervin insisted.

"N-naturally. -_hiiiiinn-_ such a discovery would bring untold knowledge to the Inquisition. Why should I not entertain the prospect?" He said quickly.

"Oh, but from the beginning you have been hoping for this I think." Stervin pressed.

Xirith stared at him. Then abruptly he clutched his chest and started wheezing once more violently. Neither Stervin nor Various made any move towards him.

"F-forgive me." He made out in between loud coughs. "It -_hiiiinnn -_seems I must -_hiiiii-_ report to the infirmary once -_huuuuu-_ ag-ain."

Reaching into his robes he pressed his buzzer and waited till several attendants rose and helped him out of his seat. He left, leaning on the arms of his servants and coughing loudly all the way.

"He's faking." Various snarled as the door to the council room finally closed.

"Yes, it seems I don't even need to be a pyker to guess that much." Stervin droned. "In any case we can be certain of one thing. Xirith has been trying to make friendly contact with some form of warp entity. Probably for quite some time now."

Various shook his head. "Foolish. How could he be so foolish? Of course once he tries to summon a shade of the Emperor something like it would come out. A powerful Daemon would naturally assume the form of what he was trying to find."

Stervin was quite for a little. "Would it?" He said after a time. "What you say is certainly true but... "

"But what?"

"Perhaps... the possibility may exist that he _did _get what he wanted."

Various bristled looking at Stervin like he had never seen him before. "What are you suggesting? That Xirith really did summon some kind of angel?" He laughed out loud but there was no humor in it, his eyes remaining sharp.

"Oh, perhaps he may have." Stervin said lightly. Various stopped laughing instantly. "Not everything in the world is recorded you know." He went on.

"Not recorded?" Various hissed. "We are the Inquisition! We fight what we know. We don't delve into rumors spawned by Ecclesiarchs and fools!"

Stervin shook his head still speaking lightly. "It doesn't matter. Whatever it is that Xirith has called forth... its **powerful**." At the last word Stervins voice went ice cold. Various could actually _feel_ Stervins psychic temperament change, shifting from an almost carefree state to dark and cold. An almost hungry feeling of dominance.

"You want the Daemon for your own." Various said feeling a rush of frustration sweep over him. This was exactly what he had been worried about. He had felt that feeling from Stervin many times. It always meant one thing. Whatever it was that Stervin directed that feeling towards always **always** went Stervin's way. At this point there was no stopping him. Not without a putting a bolt round in his head.

"Think of it Various. You felt its power. With that creature under our control we could field a weapon strong enough to wipe out any opposition."

Various frowned and tapped his power sword. "We already have power. We are the Inquisition, we use the Daemons strength but we do not rely upon it. There is no opposition we cannot already wipe out with the power of out authority. We gain nothing from the Daemon, we risk everything!"

Strevin turned and looked Various full in the face. His eyes were gleaming. "Oh don't you see Various? You speak of our power as if it were a certain thing. You know better than anyone what power our authority to requisition Guardsmen has when the world all around us is consumed by corruption. Power based on the strength of others is no sure power at all!" He said his voice rising majestically.

"With this we could have power! Don't you understand?" The gray haired man begun to pace around the room. "Since the day our faction begun to use Daemonhosts we have been in this predicament. We chose this path, and now we are shunned by all, left without support. The Grey Knights will not fight for us. The Space Marines despise us. The Ecclesiarchy is bent on eradicating us. Even the planetary Governors aid us only because they dare not do otherwise. Don't you see? We wouldn't have to rely upon Stormtroopers and cannon fodder. With this Creature we could have what we have _never had before_. A power to match the Grey Knights! A _trump card_ of our very own!"

"How will you control it?" Various asked shaking his head.

"I don't know." Stervin said still smiling. "But I have a few ideas."

*Scene

"My lord's" The Stormtrooper Sergeant said with a bow. "The failed Host is being kept under containment and sedation as per your orders."

Various Stervin and Xirith stood looking into a dark cell. The old Inquisitor had gotten over his suposed coughing fit very quickly, the news that Stervin had decided not to terminate the Creature seeming to hearten him immensely. He was now in a very good mood as they stood there examining the previously expendable host Pyker.

The man was asleep strapped to a gurney, several tubes running into his arm and the back of his head. Next to him in the room a combat Servitor stood with its guns trained on him.

"We have been monitoring his condition carefully, however we have yet to see any signs of chaos corruption."

"What of his recovery?" Stervin inquired. "Have you detected anything relating to that?"

"The Sanctioned pyker reported sensing a abnormality within him. It seems that whatever the Daemon did to him he has made a full recovery from all surgical treatment applied to him before his selection for hostdom. As far as we can tell he is now in excellent health."

"I see." Stervin said. "Leave us for now."

The Sergeant moved off and together with the other two Stervin strode into the room, bending over the sleeping pyker in his sleep. For a while none of them said anything.

"Well?" Stervin said at last. "Is it as I suspected?"

"Yes" Various murmured, his eyes focused on the mans temples. "It seems that the Daemon is drawing all of its power from this mans mind. There is a channel of power between them, though I cant seem to touch it."

"Marvelous!" Xirith crowed. "So this is how it survives without a circle! It draws its power from a host long distance. Its as if they were the same entity sharing the same power, yet the two minds remain distinct. By maintaining itself like this it can move as though there were a warp rift present everywhere. Total freedom of movement within the Material world! " He rubbed his wrinkled hands together and licked his lips.

"It doesn't even seem to hurt the host." Various murmured. Despite himself he was intrigued.

"The Creatures existence depends entirely on the survival of this specimen. Or at least a greater part of its power does." Stervin said with a note of triumph. Reaching out he carefully took the sleeping mans hand in his gigantic armored one and held his arm up. They all looked at the strange and elegant blue design that was emblazoned there. It was a sharp design that resembled cuneiform, a far cry from the harsh and clashing forms and circles employed by Chaos.

"We will need to do some testing." Stervin went on. "But I believe that with the proper methods we will be able to control or at least check the Entity through through manipulation of this ones power."

He leaned down closer and ran one of his armored fingers gently over the three part symbol on the pykers hand.

"This is our key." He murmured. "Whoever controls this can control It."

*Scene *

In deep darkness Saber struggled to move. She was submerged, submerged and crushed from all sides by an overwhelming force, an impossible weight that stopped all motion. She had never imagined a prison like this in all her life.

Getting her inside had not been an easy task, but after her humiliating defeat at the hands of the Black Heart she had been dragged down the halls by her fiendish enemy's, fighting all the way till she was at last deposited in what she had first taken to be just another room, abet one with a strange door. She had been bound with chains and a strange breathing apparatus with a tube that went up into the ceiling attached to her face.

Then from faucets in the walls had poured Quicksilver. At first she could not believe her eyes. She had heard of the strange liquid metal before, even seen some, the bizarre element eternally pored over and treasured by alchemists. But she had never imagined that so much existed in the world had come out of the walls. While at first she was mystified she quickly realized what was going on. She was being submerged. In only a few minutes the liquid metal had completely filled the room. She fought with a compulsive sense of panic as it pooled around her ankles and then gone on up to her waist. He had never learned to swim and the feeling of it rising around her invoked her primal fear of drowning. She had struggled to maintain her composure as it rose to her neck and then finally gone over her head.

Now she knew what the breathing tube was for.

But even after that it did not stop. The heavy fluid, already weighing on her grew more and more packed till she could feel it pressing on her from all sides. It went on and on until she was forced to curl up into a ball from the huge pressure coming in from all sides. Were she a human she would have been killed instantly by the pressure. As it was she simply couldn't move. She was thankful that her wounds had at least closed, even if they still troubled her greatly.

She was entombed, buried alive and sunken neath a lake of liquid metal. It was a prison that she was afraid not even she could escape from. She wondered ironically if this must have been what it felt like for her Scabbard at the bottom if its lake when it had been cast in by her Sister. Now it was her trapped at the bottom of a lake sucking air from a tube.

How long she stayed their she could not tell. It seemed like eternity, all time vanishing within the lightness confines of the metal lake. She wished that she could astralize, and found to her surprise that she could in fact astralize but for the high density of prana that the Quicksilver all around her was saturated with.

Still, that revelation had given her something to think about. So she was dead. That raised a thousand questions, none of which she could keep her mind on for a long enough to seriously consider them.

Somehow she slept. Somehow, even entombed in darkness, metal and sorcery she found it within her to sleep.

Saber slept and dreamed troubled dreams.

There was a cacophony of noise. Something was breaking down, everything was shifting and peeling away. She was somewhere, somewhere important and it was all breaking down. Hundreds of voices, some of whom she recognized were calling out in confusion and dismay. She was fighting... something shapeless and awful... it was trying to eat her but she fought like mad against it while all reality gave way around her.

She heard a voice rise above all the others. It was the voice of a familiar Golden haired spirit, the King who had pursued her hand so relentlessly. He was shouting something. Everyone was flocking around him... _she_ was joining them! Everyone gathered round the Golden King, the first and foremost of them no regardless of what other thought of his character.

Everyone was fighting something now. The shout of battle was deafening. She couldn't tell what was going on but when it was over everything had changed.

*Scene *

The man who knew not his own name huddled in the corner of his bare cell with his hands wrapped around his knees staring at the far wall. It was dull unmarked steel, with nothing, no dents, no markings for him to focus on or try to distract himself with, just like the rest of the room. The only break in the monotony was the Inquisitorial seal engraved over the door, the scull in the center of the I shape staring down at him, an unshakable reminder of whose captivity he was. He vaguely recalled that this was not the first time he had ever been in a room like this, though he seemed to remember the last one being slightly more furnished, intended as a holding cell, rather than a punishment.

He shuddered as he sat there. After his terrifying awakening in the chamber with the Saber creature and being knocked out he had awoken in this room alone.

With nothing else to do he had settled into one corner and hunched down. His captors plan, he suspected, was to make him bored, give him nothing to look at or do and let him terrify himself with the prospect of what might be about to happen to him and so break him down.

This would have worked save for a few things. For one he could not exactly remember what the Inquisition was (They Served the Emperor, he knew that much), and despite a lingering feeling of deep dread the edge of his fear was blunted by this.

Another thing was that with his memory's beginning to flood back into his mind he was anything but listless. While outside he huddled in the corner like any other prisoner inside his head he was sifting through what seemed to be a flood of information that was returning to his mind at random. His face, unlike the faces of so many others he had seen in a similar place, was not blank. While he sat in the corner his eyes were far away yet focused as he concentrated, the edges of his mouth twitching as he tried to piece together his fragmented recollections.

The last reason was that whatever had happen to the one named Saber the thing she had put inside him, the big clear breathtakingly bright thing was still inside him.

Whatever he feared from the Inquisition (and as he sifted through his returning memory's that was becoming more and more) he still had that brightness inside him. He could feel it. Like a golden mist or a pure warming candle it resided inside him, coursing through his body keeping him secure against anything.

It was a very comforting presence, and it made him feel almost as though he were not alone.

Reaching into himself with his mind he gave the presence a little nudge and smiled a small crooked smile as he felt it nudge back. It was his gift from the Saber creature, the thing that had healed him... he shook his head, he had already run over the events of his awakening a thousand times, dwelling especially on his rescuer, her face and eyes, her elegant silver armor...

Huddling up closer into the corner he turned his thoughts back to the shifting disorganized mess that was his memory's. He had already spent more time than he thought he should have going over that, now he had to focus. In any case it wasn't as though she hadn't taken something from him in return. When he had awoken he had suffered quite a shock when he realized that his mental power was being heavily taxed. At first he couldn't pinpoint where the strain was coming from but in the end it was not hard to guess. Saber was somehow draining him.

Under any other circumstance he would have panicked over this, however it had been he who had agreed to the contract in the first place, and after looking back he recalled that she had warned him that this wold happen in the first place. It was going to be hard to adjust to though, no mater what he had agreed upon..

Shaking his head he turned back to trying to recover his memory.

That istself wasn't going to be easy. His brain, just recovered from regrowing a large part of itself was aperantly not putting much thought to getting everything back in its right place. Everything seemed like a jumble. He could remember many thing, but they were all mixed together, memory's of places, names, faces concepts, events and simple everyday how-to's becoming a mash of colors and concepts that baffled him.

He let out a breath and twitched again, picking at a little wart on the side of his thumb. Somewhere in there, among all the other half formed memory's was his name.

He closed his eyes and tried to find it, trying to dig up anything that felt like it belonged to him.

Names began to drift into his mind, none of which he felt any connection to.

He paused briefly on a name that seemed familiar but then passed it up. Though it rung a bell he was somehow quite certain that his name was not Ciaphas Cain.

Straining his memory he tried to think back. His name, if it was still there, should feel special, should be the most special thing held in his memory. Shouldn't it?

_No_. A little part of him said. _There are more special things. Like faith in the god Emperor._

He nodded slightly to himself. Of course of course, even if he had forgotten most everything he hadn't forgotten _that_.

Idly he shifted through his mind for a while wondering vaguely at some of the things he pulled up. It was strange, it was as if he was a blank slate, and as he retrieved each memory a part of himself would fill in... A firing squad gunning down a line of men... a horde of rioters screaming and throwing stones and pipes... a robed figure standing on a platform before a kneeling crowd speaking in a grand voice about the justice of the Emperor... A vision of a figure clad all in dark armor looming over him beating him with a metal club (_Arbites his mind whispered)_... At first the details of the memory would seem strange, alarming or brutal, but only a few minutes later he couldn't help but regard it as natural, and wondered at how he had found it strange before. It was only natural that such things would happen after all.

Feeling back he twitched suddenly as a new memory came back to his mind. A huge black ship, so big that is seemed to fill all of space loomed in his minds eye. He was looking at it from out of a window on some smaller shuttle...

A real shiver of dread crawled up his spine and for a moment the chill drowned out the warm flame inside him. He shuddered.

Still picking at his wart his thumb slipped and he cut himself on his jagged nail making him wince and suck his hand. As he pulled it out again he stilled looking at it intently. The cut was closing before his eyes.

Before he had time to contemplate this the door burst open making him start violently.

Into the room filed a line of guards, outfitted in black armored uniforms with face concealing masks they marched in a pulled him roughly to his feet tying a blindfold around his eyes as they did. He reconsigned the presence of another pyker nearby, serving the same purpose as the blindfold did for his mental senses.

He was handcuffed, ushered out and marched down the hall. With the blindfold on and his mental powers being kept in check he found himself terrified that something might trip him. Even with the guards directing him and the hall perfectly smooth he couldn't suppress this instinct.

Finally after walking for what seemed like a long time they stopped . He heard a heavy door opening and the next moment the pushed him forward again.

Whatever room he had been brought to was warmer than the hall, and smelled pungently of chemicals making his nose wrinkle. He was lead in a ways and then his blindfold was pulled away from his eyes making him blink in the light.

The room he was in was unlike any he had ever remembered seeing so far. In contrast to the bare halls and cells this room was cramped, and full of a mixture of strange machinery and what looked to be tables full of reagents similar to the ones in the room where he had first regained his sanity.

On the walls were tanks of steel and glass full of strange fluids with pipes running to and from them, twisting along the walls and floor in a maze of steel pipes. Here and there in the room tables lay about, books and jars staked up on top of them. Thought the room several servitors made their way to and fro clanking and humming softly as they did.

It was to the human figures in the room however that his eyes were first drawn. Standing in the center of the room was a collection of people that struck him with dread. Two figures, huge and wearing power armor, one a cold faced man with dark hair that was cropped close to his scalp who he recalled from before, and the other an older looking gray haired man who as looking at him with an oddly satisfied expression. _Inquisitors_ his mind whispered as his eyes strayed to the 'I' symbols displayed on their armor. Alongside them were several others that drew his nervous eye as well. A big bulky red robed man, with so many cybernetic add on's that for a moment he almost took him for another Servitor. The strange clog like symbol on his robe rung a bell with him though. Beside the strangely robotic man was something he reconsigned immediately. A pyker like himself, this one dressed in brown robes and wearing a curious metal helmet that doubled as a face shield. He could feel his power, both the pykers and the dark haired inquisitor.

He shivered. If he had to guess he was stronger than the pyker, but the Inquisitor carried with his minds feel a cold indomitable weight that felt like it could crush him in a second if it so chose. Who was he kidding? It already had back in the summoning room. It was this man who had nearly forced him to hold his tongue when he had tried to accept Sabers contract.

Al this flashed through his mind in a moment however. He didn't have time to stare as the guards on either side of him led him further into the room. He turned his head away from the small crowd of figure watching him and then looked forward. What he saw made him blanch and for a moment his steps faltered.

It was an operating table.

One of the guards shove him roughly from behind forcing him to keep going. He was trembling uncontrollably all of the sudden. A rush of memory returned to him and he felt his stomach twist. Lights were shining in his eyes, he was being prodded with cold metal instruments, his mind was being cut away! They were breaking him...

He returned to the present, and started struggling, a surge of panic flooding his mind, he didn't want to go back to being like _that._ Anything but _that._

The guards grabbed him and one of them punched him in the stomach making him keel over but he kept fighting, thrashing his body around when he found he couldn't slip his cuffs.

Just as he was sure the guards were about to lay into him with everything they had he froze. The guards did to.

"Enough of your struggles Pyker ." Came a voice he instantly knew belonged to the dark haired Inquisitor.

"While you deserve nothing better we are not here to lobotomize you. The Inquisition has a larger purpose for you as of now."

He felt his mind relax he slightest bit. As long as they were not going to break his mind again he could live...

The guards stirred to action once more and shoved him onto the table where he lay still. His stomach was killing him now that he was not struggling anymore.

"Welcome back to the world of the sane." A smooth voice said. He could hear a clanking coming nearer. One of the Armored Inquisitors must be walking across the metal floor. "I am Inquisitor Stervin." The voice went on still drawing nearer. "And until not but a few days ago you were no one of importance."

The footsteps stopped. He strained his head trying to look up and see the face of the one who was speaking to him, but a light was being shined into his eyes and he couldn't bend his neck far enough.

"But for now, however briefly, I must also welcome you to the rather small, fickle world of unexpendability."

He gulped. He was not sure what the stuff the man was saying meant exactly.

"Tell me. Can you remember your name?"

"No." He said slowly wondering at the question. Did they know his name?

"That is good. You will have no need for such a thing. Before your experience with the Subject your identity designation was Beta E 5485. From this point forward your designation will be Kelter 2.

"Kelter...2" He said trying it out. It did not feel like a name.

"You will answer to Kelter 2 or K2 at all times. This is your new identity, any attempts to change this or invent an alternate identity for yourself will be met with discipline. Speak it."

For a split second he considered saying no, telling them that he didn't want to be called something like Kelter 2 but the next moment he felt the cold weight of the other Inquisitors mind bearing down on him.

"K-Kelter 2." He said quickly.

"Say: My name is Kelter 2." Stervin demanded.

"My name is Kelter 2."

"Very good."

"What are you going to do?" He blurted out, feeling like he had just lost something.

"That is irrelevant, as for your currant situation, as you are aware you returned unexpectedly and unwelcomely back to sanity a few days ago. After you did this your first act as a sentient being was to form a willing contract with a warp entity of unknown origin. This in itself is more than enough to warrant your immediate termination without chance of redemption."

The man who was now being called Kelter 2 swallowed, his mind racing back to the moment when Saber had first told him that he must become her Master. He had felt something then, something that had told him he should be wary of something that was not human but he had brushed it aside. Now it seemed he had indeed been doing something very wrong...

"However as things stand you are not entirely beyond hope... yet."

The voice that was talking to him paused and he could sense that the Inquisitor was standing very close to him. So close that he was sure he would be able to see him were it not for the light that was shining in his eyes from above.

"So... your not going to... execute me?" He said slowly, not sure what answer he was hoping for.

"It has been decided to postpone justice upon you due to the nature of your connection with the entity. Rejoice Kelter 2, for you have been given a chance at redemption by the Emperor, cooperate with us and you may yet redeem yourself from your crimes."

"I-I see... what do you want me to do then?"

"We are going put a psychic inhibitor on your mind. It will supress much of your natural power but will fluctuate in degree at our command. You are not to attempt to modify it, or alter it in any way. You will report any feelings, suggestions or whispers that you believe you are receiving from the warp entity. Beware, for it may attempt to pollute your mind against us or the Emperor. You will report all mental contact with the entity and above all, you will comply with us in every way. Do this and prove your loyalty to the Emperor, or be terminated and damned."

Kelter two blinked and stirred on the table. His stomach was still killing him and he felt nauseous. Was what he had done really so terrible? Something in him felt like protesting loudly against all of this, but how could he know that was right? How could he know what was right or wrong when he could not even remember his name? These men seemed to know, much better than he did, and they used the name of the Emperor, so they must be right but...was it all really that bad? He wished suddenly more than anything that he was not alone and could remember. At least know what was behind all this... But he could not. He was alone. The one who had pulled him out of his misty pit of Lobotomy was not here and he could feel in his bones that the men standing around him would not be denied.

"I- I will." He said in a small voice.

"Swear it."

"I... I swear to do as you said."

"And cooperate with us in every way."

"And I swear to cooperate with the Inquisition in every way."

"Very good Kelter 2. Your path to redemption has begun."

With that there was a steady clanking noise as he felt Inquisitor Stervin walk away from him. More clanking signaled that others were coming to take his place. A whole group of people descended on him but all he could make out were their arms, Several of them mechanical. He shivered as a syringe was stuck into his arm. It was anesthetics, something he recognized as a luxury even with his memory's not yet returned. He supposed he should be grateful, but even pain killers could not dull the horrible sensation as they preformed surgery on his mind.

*Scene *

Saber awoke when she felt the pressure in her submerged prison lessen suddenly. With merciful release the weight bearing on her from all sides lessened and slowly the Mercury began to drain away.

As it did Saber began to take serious stock of herself once more. She was shocked when suddenly it hit her. She was starved of prana again! Saber fought another jolt of panic as she realized that impossibly, sometime during her sleep her flow of prana had been nearly completely cut off, leaving only a trickle of power for her to subside on. Her armor was still present but apart from that she was dangerously low. _What was going on? _

Saber stretched and shook herself as the last of the quicksilver drained away. Had her master died? No she would know if that was the case, whatever happened she could still feel her Masters presence through their link. It was only his flow of power that had been nearly strangled.

Wringing out her arms after what felt like days in their cramped position she looked around the chamber. Her eyes narrowed as the door swung open and two more of the vile chained un-men floated in followed by a long line of masked guards. Last in line was the Black Heart, once more carrying with him the abominable sword.

She straightened up and composed her face, fixing him with a contemptuous glare. He gave her the same as the two beasts seized her by the upper arms and lifted her off her feet, carrying her with them. She gave a sharp shrug with her shoulder and found that she was indeed weak again. Weaker almost than she was before. The grips of the two monsters felt like steel to her vastly diminished strength.

Down the cold metal hallway they carried her, bound in chains and with the slick of quicksilver still clinging to her in places she tired hard to hold on to what dignity she could, holding her head high and her eyes sharp even as they carted her along.

It was bad, but it was not the first time she had been imprisoned. Her mind flew back to the time long ago when she had been a prisoner in the dungeons of a neighboring king. There however she had had the body of a mortal, and her pains were worse on that occasion than here. Then again, there she had had friends and allies who were seeking her. Here she had only herself and another man she did not know, no doubt imprisoned as she was. She had to admit the situation was the bleakest she had ever seen. Even when she had gone to face Gilgamesh at least she had had freedom of movement and Shirou by her side.

The trip took about ten minutes, the grim parade turning corner after corner, all of them dull lifeless steel corridors that looked identical. Finally they brought her to a door, passing through it she found herself in a large hall like room, longer than it was wide. At the end of the room was a table behind which sat two very familiar figures. The gray haired armored giant and the old man. The old man was watching her intently while the other regarded her with a pleasant little smile.

The two monster men set her down before the table and continued to stand on either side of her, two massive sentry's guarding a small chained prisoner in a very rumpled armor/dress combo. She wished she had taken time to repair the dents and holes in her armor beforehand but there was nothing for it now. Just keeping it materialized was a hassle at the moment, abet one she was willing to go through for the sake of her pride.

The Black Heart left the group of guards and took his place behind the table beside the other two, turning his cold eyes on her once more as he sat down.

For a while the two party's just stared at each other.

In the silence Saber idly flexed her hands against the chains binding them. Even at this drained level she could definitely break them she decided. Though she wouldn't be able to make it out of this room alive. Not if her last fight was any evidence.

It was the Grey haired one who broke the deafening silence. "Greetings once more... Saber."

Saber raised one of her eyebrows, that was the first time they had referred to her as anything other than Daemon. Despite his obvious ulterior motives for doing so Saber tacked it up as a good omen.

"I am Inquisitor Stervin of the Emperor's Holy Inquisition. It has come to our attention hat perhaps we have come into conflict prematurely-"

"Do not mock me." Saber barked sharply in a voice like ice. The one named Stervin paused with an almost polite air. "From the moment I was called forth you have made your temperament plain. There can be no parley between us, no reconciliation until every one of your vile ilk lies dead at my feet and the prisoners of your dungeon breath the free air."

"You are angry Saber, and understandably so however you will find that we will are not about to depart soon. Our original conflict was unfortunate. We understand that you were offended with our offering of a lobotomized subject?

She clenched her fists. "Your abuse of that unfortunate wretch was only my breaking point." She snarled. "Your villainy was clear from the moment you came before me. You cannot claim to be in ignorance of your evil when every one of you reeks of foul sorcery, and in order to save you own rotten flesh you leave your own followers to their doom!"

"I see." Stervin said in a tone of supreme interest. "So, you were offended by our affiliation with the Ruinous Powers? And the suffering of men angers you? "

Saber blinked. The question was posed with an air of uncertainty as if they were actually not sure what her answer would be.

"Do not play with me! I know what you think I am. A Daemon?" She shouted. "Is that what you called for? I am a KNIGHT! I am the worst thing men such as you could ever dream of! An upholder of chivalry! Everything the foul and the depraved stand for I am totally against! If I ever get free I will utterly _destroy_ you! I'll blot your name out from the face of the earth! Do you understand? There can **be** **no** concord betwixt us!"

The Inquisitors were silent. The old man looked frighted, but to her dismay Stervin did not look unsettled. A gleam was forming in his eye. A gleam that reminded her of the expression that Gilgamesh perpetually wore.

"So. You consider yourself to be an upholder of justice? A benefactor of man? Tell me." He said suddenly sounding curious. "Are you familiar... with the Ruinous Powers?"

Saber crinkled her eyes. It was the second time they had used that term. "I know nothing of any force by that name."

They went silent once again. Stervins eyes were gleaming once more with something like wonder. The Black Heart was looking at her with disbelief clear on his face while the old mans expression she could not read.

"Tell me..." He said after a little. "Are you familiar with the Inquisition?"

"How should I be familiar with it?" Saber answered sharply.

"I see... and tell me... Saber." He said once again running a bemused eye over her armor. "Are you not familiar with... the Imperium of Man?"

"I know nothing of any nation that calls itself such." Saber said. "No such thing as any of these existed in my time."

"...Your time?"

Saber didn't answer. Let them puzzle over that for a while she figured.

They whispered together urgently for a time and then got up and left the room, exiting through a small door in the back and taking almost fifteen minutes before they returned, siting down with an air of peaked interest.

Contrary to what she had expected they did not grill her on what she meant by her claim of being from the past but seemed to ignore it completely.

"Tell me, Saber." Inquisitor Stervin started. You claim to be a benefactor of mankind, and I see that you hold us in low regard for now. But what would you do if I told you that there was an evil against which we fight?An evil worse than us"

"I would not believe you."

The inquisitor frowned. "I see. Tell me who do think we are?"

"Sorcerers, _snakes_ and **filth**."

"We are the Emperors shadow, many have not heard of us, we are Xanathists. A branch of the Inquisition... a rather special organization that works for the good of man, We are a branch that specializes in turning the weapons of Chaos against itself. While we may come closer to the enemy than our puritan brothers we are no more aligned towards Chaos than they. As such we do not appreciate the title of Sorcerers."

Saber felt her mouth twitch. "You claim to use this... Chaos against itself? Yet you are wreathed in it. You're guards are _Demons_." She said gesturing to the two unmen still standing on either side of her.

"Our Daemon hosts are minions of Chaos that we have forced to our own purposes. They are not our guards but our slaves. By using them we turn Chaos against itself. Some may find it... distasteful... but our methods have been proved time and time again."

"Those who would use such vile creatures and abandon their own men to death can make no claim to fighting for the right."

"That is for us to decide. What is important for you to understand however is that there is a greater enemy against which we fight. An enemy against who all methods of sacrifice and dark deeds are justified."

"That is the excuse of every villain in history." Saber spat.

"Really? The Ruinous Power's of Chaos are no excuse. Look to either side of you. These beasts that we have subdued and bent to our will are nothing. There exist a million like them, uncontrolled by anything, willing to kill and corrupt all of humanity. We are the ones who fight them. The Ordo Malleus is our name, the Daemonhunters. What you have see of us so far is our laboratory where we search for new ways to combat the Daemons that prey upon all mankind."

Saber stood there silent. The inquisitor had finished his little speech on a note so hard that it made the air in the room ring. For a moment she considered. How much did she really know about what was going on in the world? If what this man said were true...

"What are these... Ruinous Powers you speak of?" She said at last, a sliver of doubt entering her mind.

The Gray Haired Inquisitor stood up. She had, she realized, just asked a question of critical importance, perhaps one that would finally yield some answers.

"You ask what the Ruinous Powers are, but you do not know what any of this is do you? Heroic Spirit Saber."

Saber flinched and glared at him. "So, I see you have been torturing my Master for information. I would expect no less of you."

"On the contrary your host is a loyal Servant to our cause, what we ask of him he gives us freely. We have no reason to torture him. Yet."

He ignored the wave of killing intent that Saber tried to send his way and gestured over to a figure in the corner. Saber started as it drew near, she must have missed it when it first came in. It was a a man, or something that once was a man but was now so covered in what looked like steel and complicated machinery that it only barely resembled a human form any longer. It had many extra limbs, and its head was encased in metal, staring out into the world through one dull eye, the other replaced by what she recognized as a camera lens.

"What is your will my Lord?" It intoned in a voice so mechanical and monotone that it made Saber start.

"Project prepared listing 6." Stervin ordered. A moment later something on the machine man clicked and quite suddenly a huge symbol of what looked like an eagle with two heads appeared before her.

"Whenever and wherever you are from, if you are indeed what you told your host you were, it is sufficient to know that the world is a much larger place than you previously knew. I assume that you spent your... previous life on a single planet yes?"

"What?" Saber blurted, completely wrong footed by the unexpected question.

"I see. You spent your life on a single world. What you do not know is that there is a world outside of the tiny globe that made up your universe till now. There are many planets upon which mankind has settled, in the long years of our existence we have spread from star to star across the entire galaxy."

"W-What!" She made out, slipping on her own tongue. "What are you saying?"

"I am saying that there are other worlds than the one you knew. Many worlds like the one you lived on, also with their own people."

Saber felt like she couldn't be hearing right, yet she knew she had. What did he mean? Other planets? What did...

The image being projected into the air changed suddenly, becoming a large round circular globe that she recognized as a model of the world, but this one was different somehow. All the landmasses were wrong, the seas and lands being aligned in shapes that were completely alien to her eye.

"What... is... that?" She choked staring at the strange planet.

"It is a planet, one where people live much as they lived on yours. There are countless like it."

The image changed once again becoming a completely different globe with completely different configurations of land. It was even a different color and size... The image changed again to another... and then another

Saber felt her mind reeling as she took it in. It was impossible, it was inconceivable, she had never dreamed of anything like this... She steadied herself as she found the strength threatening to go out of her legs.

"Each of these planets you see, and many many more are united together under a single man. The god Emperor of Mankind who rules from the Golden Throne on Holy Terra. All together mankind exists under a single banner." The projection switched back to the symbol of the double headed eagle. "The Impirium of Man." Stervin said with a sweeping gesture.

Saber heard herself swallow audibly. Her eyes were wind in her sockets and she found that her legs were trembling slightly. She found herself thankful that she was not the type to faint at sudden shocks.

"I... I cant believe it." She made out. "What trickery... What proof do you have of this? " She said, her voice going hard once more. "Apart from your illusions I see nothing that lends you any credence."

"That is easy." Stervin said. "I have but to take you outside for a moment to prove what I say is the truth. If you were to journey but a few hundred yards upward from here then you would find yourself on the planet Surface and you would see that this is indeed another world."

"We, We are on another world right now?" Saber gasped feeling dizzy. Despite her stated doubt only a moment earlier she some part of her sensed that it was true. The revelation was to huge, to far away from anything she had expected or anything that could be used against her to be some sort of lie.

"Indeed. The planet we are on right now is called Sordeth Three." He paused for a moment as if trying to decide something and then looked her up and down again. "We could show you. If you wished."

Saber felt her eye twitch slightly at the offer.

The journey up to the surface of the planet took a while. Saber was blindfolded and transported much as she had been before, with the two monster guards on either side of her as she walked along. It took half an hour to get there, the party of Inquisitor's, numerous guards and the single prisoner going through what must have been more than 50 corridors and three lifts before they stopped. The blindfold was removed from Sabers head and she found herself looking at a large steel door with no visible hinges, the space around it was painted with black and yellow stripes.

At some sort of unseen command the two great doors jolted suddenly, and with the sound of grinding gears they slowly parted.

Saber felt the color drain out of her face as she looked out on a barren world.

Slowly she stepped forward. The her two monster guards moved with her but otherwise made no gesture to prevent her. The ground crunched as she stepped on it, making her look down quickly. It was made of some sort of strange red gravel that compacted softly as she put her feet down.

All around her for as far as the eye could see was red. She looked out on the world from what seemed to be some sort of mountain or rise, and below them was a vast plain. It stretched on for miles and miles before her, till in the distance mountains reared up, shear and terrible and red, far larger than any mountains she had ever seen in her life.

Her eye followed them up to their impossibly bitter points till they met the sky. It was where the mountains met the sky that finally broke her out of her trance. Her knees gave way and she fell forward onto them staring up at the sky. It was inky dark blue almost black, the color of some foul and lonely pool at night, even as her eye caught the sun siting solemnly in the sky declaring it to be sometime just past midday.

Like everything else, it also was the wrong shape and hue.  
>"Oh no.." She breathed. "Lord, my Father in heaven this cannot be real!"<p>

"Now you see." Stervin said coming up behind her. "The Inquisition tells no lies."

Saber said nothing, only staring up helplessly at the infinite void above her. Deep inside her something broke forever. The conception that earth was the only world peeled away and evaporated from her perception like morning mist.

*Scene *

"What are these... Ruinous powers?" Saber asked, speaking slowly.

They had returned from the Surface several hours before, and had had one of the strangest conversations that she could remember in her life. The Inquisitor Stervin told her of the Emperor, the man who had supposedly united all mankind underneath his single banner and was now being worshiped as some sort of deified monarch to whom all humanity gave praise.

They had gone over countless other things, strange vessels that men had developed in order to travel between the stars, powerful men who governed whole worlds, and above all the Inquisition. The mysterious organization to which her captors belonged. It was to them, he said, that the duty of watching over this massive kingdom lay. They were the hands and eyes of the Emperor, he had said. Devoted to protecting humanity from its many many enemy's. And foremost among these were...

"The Ruinous Powers are an enemy unlike any other." Stervin said. "They are Daemons. Creatures from the Warp much like yourself, but twisted and bent of destruction and defilement of all they see."

"They are like me you say?" Saber said. "But I do not come from any place called the Warp. As a Heroic Spirit I am from the Throne of Hero's."

Stervin gave her a speculative look that she could not read. She was not sure if he believed her or not.

"Whatever you are, and whatever your origins you are made of the same stuff as they. When you first appeared we did not consider that you might be anything other than a Deamon attempting to beguile us."

Saber blinked. If what they had said was true then it explanation a lot. It might even justify some of what they did. Some of it. Her rage at her captors still fresh in her mind however it was not something she wanted to consider at the moment.

"Daemons are creatures of Chaos. A twisting void beyond this reality that frays at the minds of men and drives them to insanity. They are a monstrous host from the realms beyond that prey on the human spirit and seek to plunge all reality under their sway. When they gather in great numbers, summoned by depraved men who seek power and favor with them, the can engulf entire worlds and plunge them into a living hell."

"I see... And why would you ever consort with such creatures?" Saber demanded.

"We are the Inquisition. We are above the taint of Chaos enough to take such risks as these. Our arts have yielded us many powerful tools with which to fight for humanity. The guards you see to either side of you are one. Without such things as these or powerful help from the Emperor combating Chaos is nigh impossible for mere men to fight."

"So, in order to fight the enemy you become like them." Saber spat.

"We have little choice." Stervin said. "The forces of Chaos are powerful, and to defeat them all methods must be considered, not simply the safe ones. But that is not for now." He said looking down on her. The light was back in his eyes now.

"Now _you_ are here." He said slowly. "While we did not mean to ever call up something like you, by the grace of the Emperor you are here."

Sabers eyes narrowed again.

"Your Host said something interesting when he recalled his meeting with you. When you emerged you styled yourself as "Servant" did you not?"

"I am a Servant to my Master and my Master only." Saber said quickly.

"And you so called Master is a Servant of us." Stervin said without missing a beat. "You claim to be a Servant then. And Servant of the Sword whats more, which makes you a weapon. As we have all seen you are a powerful combatant. Even your name means weapon."

"Now hear me Saber. You were called into this world with a purpose. It was by the Emperors will that you were called here. To serve as a weapon, a weapon against the Emperors foes."

For what felt like the hundredth time that day the room rung with deafening silence as the hulking armored man finished his speech to his tiny audience.

"...If you want me to fight those who would prey upon the weak... then I am ready." She said slowly, weighing every word as it came out. "But I will not fight for _you_." She went on with resolve. "I will not raise my sword alongside those of evil bent."

"You would throw away your chance to protect humanity over something so trivial?" Stervin demanded.

"Surly you are not the only fighters in this Emperors cause?" Saber said. "If I were to draw my sword I would march alongside warriors who fight as I seek to fight. With honor and dignity! In all these planets there must be some force, some warriors who go to battle with valor?"

Stervin was frowning. "If there is any such force it is irrelevant." He said firmly. "The Inquisition is the only force that would allow you to fight, any others would brand you a Daemon and seek to eradicate you as one of the enemy. In the Inquisition you could do the most good, we are the eyes and ears of the Emperor, it is we who know where you should be best placed. Furthermore we alone hold the tradition of harnessing creatures of uncertain origin like yourself, only with us would you be able to operate."

"I am not accustom to the traditions of your 'Inquisition.' What I have see of them so far is nothing more than a pathetic band of cowards and blackguards!" Saber snarled. Contempt dripped from her voice like venom as she spoke, her fury breaking lose upon them. "A coven of treacherous bastards who use demons to do their fighting and leave their own comrades to die!"

"It does not matter. You will fight for us." He said his voice carrying the weight of absolute certainty. "Nothing denies the Inquisition. You cannot be turned over to any other force. You will fight with us and defend humanity as you should... or you will be returned to your containment cell for as long as we have use for you as an experimental subject."

"There is no middle ground in this for you. I hope you consider those worlds which may hang in the balance of your decision."

Saber stood there staring up at him, her eyes two blazing orbs of rage and indignation. Her hands trembled and she found that she was biting her lip so hard she was bleeding. With a snap one of the links on the chains binding her wrists broke.

"I swear." She intoned as her hands shook with rage. "After this Chaos is defeated I will return to bring your deaths."

Stervin smiled serenely back at her.

*Scene *

Author notes:

_Well sorry for the long wait. As for the long update time inspiration for this story comes in waves. I could update more regularly... but then it would suck. I think. _

_For any of you don't know the Star Child is a fragment of the Emperor that resides within the warp. It is something of a symbol of hope within the Warhammer verse. Its existence is not universally accepted and its a highly controversial subject within the Inquisition. _

_Mercury prison. Now **that** is how I think you would contain a Heroic Spirit. Or Superman. Not Magneto though. Encasing him in solid metal might work less well on him._

_For anyone who cares Beta E (Sabers Master's original classification) stands for: Beta (Level Pyker) Expendable. Their new Designation: Kelter means Crown. A cooky to anyone who knows where I stole that title from._

_Well, most important question I have. Did Sabers agreement to work for the Radical inquisitors come off as realistic?_

_Does Stervin come off as someone who is good at cohering people or dis the whole Saber vs Inquisition debate round 1 come off as forced in order to get Saber working for them._

_I tried to keep it as true to the different parties as possible, and in the end I figured that the only way Saber would ever agree to fighting for them is if she believed that a lot of innocent people might die if she did not. Also this Saber/ Inquisition relationship is definitely going to shift and evolve as Saber learns more about the world she is now in. Or at least I will try to make that happen_


End file.
